Djinjer: Life of a Worgen
by Fallena Valistar
Summary: As a sequel to Djinjer: A Worgen's Tale, this story follows Djinjer through her life after having a second and more serious encounter with death. That encounter has changed Djinjer, but is it for the better or worse? Will Djinjer and Zathaniel finally work things out? All of your questions will be answered in this story!
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** _Please note that this is a sequel. If you have not read the previous story, please check my work for the previous story, Djinjer: A Worgen's Tale. For those of you that have read A Worgen's Tale...welcome back. I'm hoping to wrap up Djinjer's story with this part, but her story may extend to a third part. Who knows :3 The chapters may not come out as quickly as they had before, but I'm hoping to keep the updates consistent. __  
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_Another note: I wanted to start this story with a cliffhanger feel. You have been warned! Mwahaha!  
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* * *

Her heart was still pounding in her chest. The screams and cheers of the spectators were still ringing in her ears. Djinjer took a deep breath and returned to her human form, looking down at her blood covered gear. Though she tried to focus, her head buzzed with the adrenaline that was surging through her entire body. It was times like this that she didn't think about the scorching heat or the suffocating humidity. In fact, she didn't think about anything when she finished a battle.

"That's the fifth one," her human companion murmured. "You'll be lucky if he pays you, especially after last time." Djinjer looked at the female rogue, only to find her cleaning her own gear and weapons. Hyacinth, better known as Saxon, had fought just before her. She was always careful with her opponents, making certain not to kill them. Djinjer, on the other hand, couldn't make any promises. Sometimes, the beast took over and she couldn't stop herself. Other times...it just seemed right.

"That's the fifth one! The _fifth_ one, Djinjer! They're called _'duels'_ for a reason! You aren't supposed to kill them!" The angry goblin chucked two small bags of gold on the floor. "Do you see that?" he snarled. "Since _I_ had to pay for that fighter's death, I took it out of both of your pay!"

"_What?!_" Hyacinth shrieked, spinning around with her weapons in hand. "You dirty little mongrel!"

The goblin cackled, "Thank your partner here!" He quickly scuttled out of the room, obviously hoping to avoid the wrath of another fighter.

...That's true...

Djinjer had almost forgotten that _she_ fought his last big winner and won. That's how she got here. Djinjer sighed heavily and looked over her shoulder at the rogue. Saxon was a fearless rogue that could take down the heaviest of brutes! She was agile and incredibly talented, so much so that she could have easily worked SI:7. And now, this terrifying rogue was sitting on the floor of their little hole, crying over ten pieces of gold. "Take mine," Djinjer murmured.

"I can't do that," she said, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

Djinjer sighed heavily and began working on removing her armor. "Take it. I don't need it. You have rent to pay."

"So do you."

Djinjer snorted. "I clean the tavern with no pay so that I can sleep in a rickety broom closet and have one hot meal a day. There's no rent involved. Take it." As soon as Djinjer slipped out of the last piece of her armor, she glanced at the rogue again found her looking at the other bag. "I mean it. This is my fault. Take my gold and stop blubbering. It's not good for your image."

Image was everything, especially Hyacinth's. Rumor was, she could give Valeera Sanguinar a run for her money. ...Djinjer didn't know this Valeera person, but if people were saying Hyacinth was that good, well then..._maybe_ it was true. But as tough as "Saxon" seemed, she was still just a soft hearted woman, working as hard as possible to earn money to take care of her ill parents and keep their home.

Djinjer didn't say anything more to the rogue as she went back to scrubbing the blood off of her gear. She still didn't say anything as Hyacinth said goodbye and thanked her for the gold. That was because _this_ was the time that she hated. The small moment between her fights and going to work at the tavern. It allowed her thoughts to drift, which was never a good thing. Once she finished cleaning her gear, she packed her things and without a bag of gold, she began her trek home.

Booty Bay wasn't the best hiding place in the world, but she didn't think she'd ever run into the Royal Family here. The small city smelled heavily of fish and smoke, but smelled even worse in some areas, not that she wanted to wonder why. She walked into the tavern, not greeted by anyone in particular, and made her way to the small closet. Down five steps and she was home. The closet smelled of sea water, but that's most likely because the walls failed to keep all of the sea spray out. ...At least the ceiling didn't leak. The floor, on the other hand, was a lost cause. When the tide was in, she had at least two or three inches of water in her room, which is exactly why everything was up on stilts. She didn't even keep her boots on the floor.

Djinjer placed her belongings on her bed and quickly changed into her civilian clothes. With a bandanna wrapped around her head and soft but study slippers on her feet, Djinjer walked back into the tavern and began her second job. It wasn't often that she listened to conversations or talked to people as she mopped. Instead, she focused on little things...like the lines in the wooden planks or the sound of the world outside. She especially liked hearing the rain and thunder, which didn't come nearly as often as it should. "Cooper!" Djinjer lurched up from her mop. "_Cooper_!" With a huff, she made her way back to the main room, her eyes landing upon the one person that she just couldn't get away from. "This Dwarf says he knows you." 

* * *

Djinjer sat across from Nagmil, wondering how he managed to locate her this time. He looked around at her room, blinked down at the wet floor, then frowned. "This is _some_ place ya've got," he murmured. "Very...moist." When she didn't reply, he sighed and looked at her. "Why do ya keep runnin' away? I told ya! Come live with my family. It would be a pleasure to have you back in Thundermar."

"Tell me, Nagmil, have you been back home?" He blinked, seeming startled by her sudden outburst. "Because I heard that the Highlands are far from peaceful at the moment, what with all the fighting between the Horde, Alliance, Dragonmaw, and everything that can walk and cause some sort of violence. Do you even know if your home is still there, or your family?"

He frowned and looked disappointed. "Lass, I couldn' just let you die."

"You've said that," Djinjer said. "Several times. In fact, you've said that every single time you've found me. How have you not gotten the hint?"

"I care about ya like my own daughter. I mean, look at ya! Yer living in an outhouse! Yer a gladiator, killin' people for money and sick entertainment!" A cold chill ran up Djinjer's spine as she sat there, staring at Nagmil in surprise. "That's right, lass, I know all about you, _Cooper_. Why the bloody hell do they call ya that anyway?"

Djinjer shrugged. "I was marked down for a copper. My handler misspelled it and they thought my name was Cooper. Once Soricks realized how good I was, he didn't mind that I was called Cooper. All of his female fighters are given strong, male names." Nagmil rubbed his forehead in a stressed manner. "I don't mind."

"Of course ya don't! You're bloody well hidden from the world! Hardly even recognizable! Ya even colored your hair...and look how short it is! What happened to that young woman I met?" Djinjer shrugged, running a hand through her dark brown hair. "How can ya be happy?"

Again, she shrugged. "I try not to think about anything."

Nagmil was quiet for a moment. He shook his head and hopped down from his chair onto the damp floor. "You are a _good_ soldier of the Alliance!" he rumbled out, speaking as properly as he could. "To willingly be a gladiator," he spat on the floor, "you should be ashamed of yourself. Look," he shook his hands at her, "don' bother leaving. Don' bother thinkin' I'm comin' back. I'm not. I'm being shipped out to Mount Hyjal. Jus' thought ya might want to know."

"You mean you want me to travel with you and do quests together?" When he nodded, Djinjer grinned, "That's not my life anymore, but thanks."

Nagmil shrugged. "The offer will remain on the table for three days. After that, yer on yer own."

Djinjer had wanted to tell him that she already was on her own...but the truth was, this room was pretty awful. She wondered if Hyacinth needed roommate that would serve as a helping hand. Nagmil waved at her with hopeful eyes and with a wave of her own, he walked out of her room and possibly out of her life. Djinjer wouldn't be surprised if she found him lurking in Booty Bay for those three days. That's what he normally did, up until she decided to leave. As she bit her bottom lip, Djinjer thought about her days questing and honestly...she did kind of miss it. She just didn't want to be associated with Stormwind City, because _he_ could be there. But how could she avoid the King, the Prince, and their long lost cousin?

* * *

"You'll need more than that bubble!" Varian called out, chuckling as his son used yet another magical bubble to encase himself. Zathaniel grinned and swung his swords around, smacking Anduin several times, causing the bubble to pop. Anduin gasped and fell backward, holding his mace up for protection.

"That," Zathaniel breathed out, "was pathetic!"

"I think I did better yesterday," Anduin said with a groan. "Do you really have to hit so hard?"

"Yes!" Zathaniel chuckled out.

"Your enemies won't give you the mercy that Zathaniel does," Varian said from his chair.

Anduin frowned as he got to his feet. "Maybe I just won't get better."

"Rubbish!" Zathaniel said, sheathing his swords at his hips. "You're young! You have all the time in the world to train and better yourself. Other boys your age aren't doing as well."

"Well, some are," Anduin murmured, feeling entirely defeated today.

Varian grinned, "You won't succeed with that attitude, son."

"I had been in training my whole life," Zathaniel told Anduin as a servant hurried over to them with towels and a goblet of fresh water. "I assure you, you could have taken me in a fight!"

Anduin scoffed and smiled, but that smile immediately faltered. Zathaniel didn't hesitate as he looked over his shoulder toward the door. Immediately, his heart began pounding as he spotted the shaman. "You wouldn't be returning unless you had some good news," Varian said as he walked over to Nagmil. Zathaniel slowly followed Varian, wiping at his sweat. No longer did he hold his breath, waiting to hear about Djinjer. He no longer feared for her safety, because if she could survive that horrible crash half a year ago, then she could survive anything. It was obvious that she didn't want to be found.

"Good evening," Nagmil bowed and smiled up at them. "It is always a pleasure to speak to you directly, Good King."

Varian nodded, "So, what is your news?"

When it was confirmed that both Djinjer and Nagmil were alive and well, Varian and Zathaniel did their best to track them down as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, they didn't realize that Djinjer and Nagmil went their separate ways and ended up tracking Nagmil to the Legerdemain Lounge in Dalaran. Since then, Nagmil was employed directly by Varian to find and locate Djinjer. Djinjer, somehow, always slipped through his fingers.

"If we act quickly," he murmured, "we can find her in Booty Bay."

"Booty Bay? What is she doing over there? Don't tell me she's become a pirate," Varian seemed surprised by the annoyance in Zathaniel's voice. He knew Zathaniel still cared about Djinjer, but he also knew that Zathaniel was moving on and leaving Djinjer be.

Nagmil began grumbling as he scratched himself. With a heavy sigh, he said, "Actually, she's got quite the reputation. Say, have you heard of a goblin by the name of Soricks Banksbet?"

Varian frowned and growled, leaving both Zathaniel and Anduin in wonder. "Of course," he finally said, "The swine only employs female fighters and erases their identity, giving them male names." No one needed to explain further. Zathaniel understood.

"There's another fight tomorrow, Good King. If I were you, I'd pay special attention to the fighter named Cooper."


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:** _I can't believe how much inspiration I had for this chapter! It was actually exciting to write this. I will apologize for any mistakes there are and...well...I'm not sure how quickly the next chapter will come out so try to enjoy this one... :3  
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* * *

Djinjer watched her partner pace back and forth, mumbling to herself. This was unlike the rogue. Normally, she was calm and collected and found in the corner of the room, sharpening her daggers or coating them in poison. How strange Hyacinth appeared, with her disheveled hair and dark circles under her eyes. Her gear wasn't even properly tightened. Hyacinth came to a stop, holding the back of her hand against her mouth. Djinjer stood up as she sobbed loudly.

"What is it?" Djinjer asked. "Did one of your parents..."

The rogue shook her head and took a deep breath. "My mother told me she loved me."

Djinjer blinked several times, "Um..."

"My mother hasn't said a single word in three years." Djinjer stared at her companion in confusion. "I just have a bad feeling. A horrible feeling."

The two stared at each other in silence until a horn startled the both of them. "Tighten your gear," Djinjer hissed. "We're up next."

Everything was going as it normally did. The two of them walked out into the arena. They were introduced, though everyone already knew their names. Their handler called out to the crowd, exciting the spectators, and hoping to get the bids a bit higher. The opposing team was then introduced...and that's when things changed. A goblin, lighter in color than their handler, walked out onto the field by himself. He held his hands up and smiled at the crowd.

"I bet you're wondering, what does he have to offer? Where are his fighters? Well, cutthroats and pickpockets, let me tell you, I only need _one_ fighter to take down this duo!" Djinjer cast a glance at her companion. Hyacinth—no—_Saxon_ gripped her daggers, readying herself for whatever monstrosity they were about to face. "Now, how about we make this even more interesting?" The crowd cheered loudly. "How about we bend the rules and we let _my_ fighter take those two on _at the same time?!_" The crowd's cheers were nearly deafening. "Get out here, Boneater!"

Djinjer didn't quite know what to expect, but she wasn't all that surprised when she saw a heavily armored, towering ogre walk out from the other side of the arena. Saxon and most of the crowd chuckled as he struggled to squeeze out of the door. If the flag had already fallen, this fight would already be over. "This should be interesting," Djinjer murmured, retrieving one of her two-handed swords.

"Agreed," her companion murmured, slipping into a stealth. "Don't let me down," she whispered.

"Same goes for you," Djinjer snapped as the large brute finally popped out of the stone archway. Djinjer didn't bother turning into her worgen form. In fact, she saved that when times were desperate or when she couldn't control that feral urge. Oh, how her handler was pleased when the crowds placed so many bets against the frail human girl, only for her to erupt into a beast, slaughtering her first real opponent. Djinjer's took several steady breaths as the armored behemoth made his way to the center of the ring.

The handlers hurried over to their booths and with a countdown, the flag was lowered. Djinjer clenched her sword and rose to her tiptoes, ready to attack, but the brute just stood there. He sniffed and snorted, then with one quick gesture, he swung his club out. Saxon grunted as she barely missed the weapon and the crowd went crazy. Djinjer was willing to place a bet of her own, that Valeera—whoever she might have been—wouldn't have been so carelessly aggressive. That was the first time anyone had gotten that close to injuring her so quickly into the fight. He snatched her ankle with his right hand, which Djinjer took as her queue. She charged the ogre, but before she could even make contact, he used Saxon as a weapon of sorts and slammed the rogue into her. Djinjer was sent sliding against the dirt, but quickly got to her feet. The brute swung Saxon again, ignoring the damage she was doing to his hand with her daggers, but instead of making contact with Djinjer, she used whatever luck she had and abandoned her weapon to catch her companion and friend.

Djinjer wrapped her arms tightly around Saxon's waist and pulled the rogue as hard as she could. The ogre chuckled and also pulled, forcing a scream of anguish from Saxon. Djinjer heard the snapping, but hoped for Saxon's sake that it was merely a dislocation, not a break. Her companion snarled and cursed and threw her dagger at the ogre's face. It was a miss, but a spark proved to be enough to make the ogre let Saxon go. He roared in pain as he took a moment to rub his eyes. Djinjer snatched up her sword with one hand and hurried away from him.

"No, Djinjer, _no!_"

"Shut up, rogue! I'm going to try to save both of our lives while he's being stupid!"

"No! Drop me! I have enough throwing daggers to get his attention!"

Djinjer dropped Saxon and stared at her, "What?"

"When he comes for me, use that speed of yours to climb up his back and go for his neck, the spot right between his helmet and chest piece." Saxon did her best to stand and balance on her own, which was quite impressive. Djinjer, on the other hand, raced to the other side of the arena as the ogre spun around. She was in his blind spot and just like most stupid brutes, he focused on the one opponent that he could see. Djinjer threw herself forward as he raced toward Saxon, but as soon as her foot made contact with his back, he came to a sliding stop. With speed that didn't seem to fit his size, the ogre spun around and once again, batted her across the field.

Djinjer slammed against the stone wall with such force that she lost her breath. She blinked her eyes and got up to her feet, but with several steps, she stumbled and crashed against the ground. _Better me than her_, she thought to herself, expecting to hear the thundering footsteps of her opponent. Instead, she heard his gravely laugh. Djinjer got to her feet again and looked at him.

Though her heart was already pounding from the adrenaline, it started racing even faster as she spotted four individuals. Heavily guarded, the King of Stormwind stood up and looked directly at her. Djinjer's eye widened and hear heart trembled. She refused to look at Zathaniel or his cousin, or for that matter, Nagmil. "Looky, looky, puppy dog."

Djinjer didn't bother looking, she merely charged the ogre again. He caught Djinjer by her head, leaving only her eyes revealed. "Watch," he grunted.

Djinjer shrieked against the ogre's fingers as he slammed Saxon down into the ground with such force that blood spurted from her mouth. This was her fault. She had gotten distracted when she could have been saving her friend! His grip tightened around Djinjer's head as he reached for the club that he so carelessly left on the ground. He lifted it and with one chuckling, "Bye bye," he slammed it down onto the dying rogue.

Djinjer and the ogre were bathed in her blood and like the sick individuals they were, the crowd cheered louder than ever. The ogre threw Djinjer at Saxon's corpse, which was most likely a mistake. Djinjer threw herself away from the disfigured remains as his club landed on her again. That had been the killing blow that belonged to her...but he was stupid. He should have just crushed her head while he had her in his overly large hand. Instead, he allowed her to become completely enraged.

Djinjer trembled where she stood. Each breath she took ignited her lungs and her senses enhanced with each passing second. The shrieks that had erupted her were nothing compared to the growl that silenced the crowd. For the first time since she stepped in this damn arena, _she was livid_. Djinjer removed her second sword and raced forward. The ogre, sensing the challenge, swiped at her with his mace, swinging low. This allowed Djinjer to spring up into the air, coming close enough to him to slice at the crude forged chains holding his chest piece up. As soon as she landed, she snatched up her other sword and dashed between his legs as he made a grab for her.

Saxon had a bad feeling...all because her mother told her she loved her.

The last time she saw her parents, they were frightened of her and wanted nothing to do with her.

Now behind the monster, she slammed both of her swords into his hips, then further up his back, then to his shoulders where she attempted to slice into the blubber protecting his neck. The ogre nearly face planted to send her flying, but Djinjer was more like a cat in that aspect. In worgen form, she always landed on her feet. The rage she felt multiplied. Saxon's premature death _was_ her fault. She underestimated that stupid, ugly ogre. Even though tears filled her eyes, Djinjer was more focused than ever.

The ogre charged toward her, but each time he swung that club, Djinjer jumped over it and injured his arms. With his blood now pouring nonstop, it was only a matter of time before he died. Normally, the deaths she caused were accidental, but Djinjer decided that even if the horn was blown and the fight was over...this ogre had to die. He swung one more time, allowing her to land upon his arm. She took no time in hurrying to his head, where she kicked off his helmet and tore the remaining pieces of leather and chain holding up his chest piece. He let out of a roar of his own, one that was clearly out of frustration and turned to her, readying himself. She knew that stance. He was prepared to bat her away again, but this time, he would fail. Like before, she charged him, but instead of jumping as high as she could, Djinjer merely hopped, as if she were jumping over a stray can of Kaja'Cola. She With the ogre aiming high, Djinjer merely ran up behind him, digging the claws upon her toes into his fatty flesh as she rammed both of her swords into his throat.

The brute stumbled for a bit and dropped his club. "Finish him!" chanted the crowd. With all of her rage and strength, Djinjer pulled on her swords until his head came free of his body, slamming upon the ground with a loud thud. She jumped from the ogre's body and landed in the center of the ring. There, she returned to her human form, soaked in the blood of one of the greatest rogues she had ever known and the ogre. Though many cheered for Cooper, she could do nothing but stare at the man she had been avoiding for far too long.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: **_I...have been playing SO MUCH WoW! Goodness! But I got some time to write out the chapter and even started the next. I'm actually rushing a character to the necessary level for some quest information. I know, I know. I could look it up on WoWhead or any of the other sites, but I really want this character to just go through the quests. It helps, I'm telling ya. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the chapter. It's a bit of a filler._

_UPDATE: OMFG! I had this uploaded for A LONG TIME! I never freaking posted it though!_

* * *

Zathaniel was tense throughout the entire fight. His hand kept twitching because he knew he could make one shot. One shot and that ogre was down. How many times was his vulnerable spots clear to Zathaniel? But each time he made a grab for his gun, Varian stopped him. That would definitely be frowned upon. Anduin gasped and nearly vomited as the rogue was killed so violently. Instead of being tempted to grab his gun, he placed that hand on Anduin's shoulder and continued to watch the fight. He knew, as soon as the ogre released Djinjer that it was a mistake on his part. Djinjer was never more dangerous than when she was livid. Just as he thought, Djinjer slipped into her worgen form with a terrifying roar.

"Uh oh," Nagmil muttered.

"I'll never get tired of seeing that transformation," Varian said, completely unaffected by the horribly disfigured remains of the rogue. With a glance to his left, he could see that Anduin was still staring down at his lap. The rogue's death was a bit too gruesome for the young prince. When the crowd started chanting for Djinjer to finish the ogre, both he and Anduin looked back into the arena. Djinjer beheaded the ogre and jumped from its overly large body. Panting, she slowly turned toward them and looked up.

His heart quivered as their eyes met and in a flash, he remembered every single moment that she took his breath away. Zathaniel slowly stood up and placed his hands on the stone barrier. The crowd cheered so loudly for her and yet, he knew she had fallen deaf to them. As the handlers made their way back onto the field, something primal took over. Djinjer took a step back and transformed back into her worgen body and immediately, Zathaniel unbuckled the cloak and let it drop behind him. He placed a foot on the barrier and without a second thought, for the first time in a long time, Zathaniel transformed into his worgen form, causing his little cousin to gasp.

Zathaniel launched himself to the arena and immediately, Djinjer began running. She jumped into the opposite crowd of spectators and raced through them, jumping from the very top. Zathaniel mimicked her and landed far too close for Djinjer's liking. She yelped and threw herself on all fours, taking off at a sprint. Zathaniel held back a laugh as he did the same. Her mistake was forgetting that he had _always _been faster than her, especially when she had already used much of her energy.

He hurried away from her, only to make his way around her. Djinjer gasped as she came to a sliding halt and dashed to the left of them. He didn't know what drove him to chase her, but he couldn't help it! It had been so long since he had felt such a rush! Zathaniel sped up as they made their way to the shore. Before she could turn or head back into the thick jungle, Zathaniel tackled her. They slid for a moment on the hot sand and Djinjer spun over quickly and slammed her palm into his face. He yelped in surprise, but grinned as she wiggled her way out from beneath him. Though Djinjer stood in an attempt to flee again, Zathaniel flung himself at her and the two crashed into the water.

Both of them returned to their human forms as Djinjer stood up, coughing and sputtering. Zathaniel merely stood there, grinning at her, readying himself to chase her again if he needed. Djinjer shot him a glare, "_What's wrong with you_?!" she shrieked, shoving him with all of her strength. Zathaniel chuckled and shoved back, sending her toppling back into the water. Djinjer quickly sat up and wiped her face, glaring at him angrily. "There's a reason I never came back!" she snapped.

"And there's a reason why I'm here right now," he said, holding his hand out to her.

Like a child, she splashed water at him and stood up on her own, batting his hand away each time he made an attempt to help her up.

* * *

Djinjer wanted to be angry. She had just lost a friend because she was distracted by this jerk and his family and now he had the gall to shove her around? Djinjer grumbled as she finally got to her feet. "You can go right back to Stormwind or Gilneas, or wherever you came from! I don't want to see you! I don't want anything to do with you!"

That wasn't true...was it? The fact was, now that he was here, right in front of her, Djinjer wanted nothing more than to just fall into his arms and..._rest_. Djinjer looked at him, expecting to see a hurt expression, but the idiot was smiling at her! How infuriating! She growled at him, but Zathaniel chuckled and pulled her into his arms. She could do nothing as he kissed her in a way that made her knees weak and her heart tremble, especially when he trailed his middle finger along the scar on the back of her neck. How could she forget about that scar? Slowly, Zathaniel pulled away from her and she could do nothing but pout in return.

"I missed you," he whispered, placing his forehead against hers.

"Why would you listen to Lorna?" Djinjer asked, remembering the letter Lorna had given Zathaniel. The letter told him that he needed to be in Gilneas and that she, Djinjer, was no more wife material than Kimberly. "Do what you must with her, but get it out of your system," Djinjer repeated the last line of the letter.

Zathaniel shook his head and nodded to the shore. "Let's sit somewhere dry."

"No," Djinjer looked down at the knee high water, "I want to know now."

Zathaniel sighed heavily. "It was unfortunate that you found the letter, Djinjer...because that's not at all why I mated with you."

Djinjer's eyes widened and her cheeks became hot. "Do you have to say it like that?!" she hissed, looking around to see if anyone was listening. ...As if anyone would be. They were basically alone. For a second, she wondered what was going on back at the arena. Djinjer sighed loudly and stomped over to the shore. "If you didn't want me to find that letter, why'd you leave it in your room?"

"Because I thought you wouldn't go through my possessions," Zathaniel answered with a hint of arrogance. Djinjer shot a glare at him, but again, he smiled. "I don't exactly care about any _order_ that Lorna gives. Am I serving in Gilneas now?" Djinjer didn't respond as she flopped down onto the sand and removed her boots, draining them of water. "At that point, I had wanted to be with you regardless of what anyone said."

Djinjer grunted. "Don't think I'm leaving my life behind to play house with you." She looked up at him when he didn't respond. "What?" she asked.

Zathaniel was looking out over the water with a strange look on his face. It took a moment before he finally took a deep breath and grinned at her. "You're too fiesty to settle down, girl." Djinjer scoffed. "Which is why I want you to join me in my adventures."

Djinjer raised a brow at him. "Uh-huh."

"I do," Zathaniel said, squatting down next to her. "Let's start over."

Djinjer blinked at him several times. She didn't exactly know what she had expected from Zathaniel, but she had never expected that. "I highly doubt I'm skilled enough for a place like that."

"We'll work together. I'll always be there to protect you," came the soft reply.

"What about your family?" she asked with a nod toward the arena. "Surely they don't want you to go."

"Ultimately, it's up to me, Djinjer." Djinjer swept her shortened hair back and sighed heavily. "Wouldn't it be nice to make a decent and consistent income?" She glared up at him. "Just try it for a few days. If you don't like it or you don't want to be by my side, I'm sure I could arrange something in town for you."

Djinjer yanked off her gloves and continued glaring at him. "Fine," she said with a snort. "I'll do it. But don't you expect me to fawn over you like some lovesick puppy."

"Lovely play on words, Djinjer." Zathaniel stood and held his hand out to her once again. Like before, she smacked it away and got up on her own, slipping on her wet boots. "Of course, you'll have to come back to Stormwind with me."

"I figured," Djinjer muttered. "I'll have to get my things first and don't worry," she glanced at him, "I'm not going anywhere. Just tell your circus to meet me in Booty Bay."

Djinjer and Zathaniel separated at the arena. She didn't bother going into that death trap because she didn't want to see her friend being scraped off of the ground. She didn't even want to get the money that she had won. Unfortunately for her, the royal family and their guards didn't have a hard time catching up to her, what with being on their mounts. Zathaniel pulled her up behind him and honestly, she was thankful―though she'd never admit it. "Traitor," she hissed at Nagmil. The dwarf laughed in reply and began singing a Dwarven tune. When the group began making their way to the nearby ship, Djinjer slipped off of Zathaniel's horse and hurried over to Hyacinth's home.

"What are you doing here?" Djinjer snapped, spotting her goblin handler.

With his ears sagging and his eyes downcast, he muttered, "I think I'm done, Cooper. I cared more than I should have about that girl. I let her get lazy...careless...stuck in routine fights. It's _my_ fault that she's dead, Cooper. My fault that these folks don't have anyone." When Djinjer didn't reply, he continued. "I think I'm going to take care of them until their final days."

"And what's in it for you?"

He shrugged. "I get to have a bit of a family."

Djinjer grunted, "I didn't expect that from you."

"Here," Soricks held out a bag to her. From the looks of it, it was the entire cut from the fight, bets and all.

"You keep it," Djinjer muttered. "I don't want it."

"Me either," the goblin said, his voice cracking.

"Look," Djinjer walked over to him and kneeled down beside him. "Use it to take care of her folks. Take care of this house and don't ever go back to the life of a handler or a gambler."

"Where are you going?" he asked softly.

"Stormwind City. Looks like I'm going to start another adventure."


	4. Chapter 4

**Note:** _I'm sorry that this took SO long to get up here, but I was trying to figure out where I wanted to put Djinjer and Zathaniel. Ultimately, I decided on one zone and knew that I had to include the introduction quests just because...why not? No matter how much research I did on these quests, I wasn't feeling it, so I decided to play through those quests. The crappy part about that was that I didn't have any Alliance characters high enough to do those quests, so I had to speed level a character. Long story short, I finally was able to experience the quests, took lots of screenshots, and worked on this chapter. If there are any mistakes, for the love of all that's peaceful, please ignore it. Working on this chapter gave me a migraine and I couldn't bring myself to read over it again._

* * *

Djinjer had always thought that Stormwind was beautiful. Its contrast to Gilneas City was nearly blinding. While Gilneas City had an elegant beauty that could only come from age, Stormwind was big, bold, and new. Even the city's "old" parts seemed newer in comparison to Gilneas City. Though she'd never admit it, Djinjer loved Stormwind City and wished that one day, if she couldn't return home to Gilneas City, she could at least settle in Stormwind City.

She sat on the railing, overlooking the lake with the small island sitting in the middle of it. From here, she could see the different portals that were open, waiting to take brave adventurers to their destination. How beautiful and bright they looked in the young night sky. She shifted and sighed softly as a glowing light appeared behind her. As she turned her back to it, it grew brighter until the culprit sat beside her and said, "I was wondering where'd you gone off to." When she didn't reply, he asked, "Why are you sitting in the dark?"

Djinjer shrugged and turned to face Zathaniel. "It was daylight not a moment ago. I couldn't be bothered to find a torch...or a lantern." He placed the lantern between the two of them with a smile. "Are you enjoying your stay?"

"Of course I am," she said in her scratchy voice. "But I know it won't be long before we head through a portal that's down there."

Zathaniel turned around and eyed the shrine in the center of the lake. "That's true," he said. "Perhaps...you should retire early tonight and rest while you can. After all, we leave early the day after tomorrow."

Djinjer couldn't help but grin as she eyed her companion. He refused to look at her, but his hesitant and persuading tone made her think that he had other plans in mind. When he realized she wasn't in a hurry to reply, he looked up at her with questioning eyes. "You aren't that clever," she said, continuing to grin. "I don't have to be smart to know what you're up to."

Slowly, a grin appeared on his handsome face. "You can't blame me for trying."

"I can't," she replied and sighed, turning her back to the shrine. "I _will_ retire, but not with you."

"That's a shame," he murmured. "Honestly, I was just hoping to catch up." Djinjer chuckled as he picked up the lantern and together, the two walked the halls of Stormwind Keep. "Djinjer..." she cocked a brow at him, "Please don't misunderstand me, but I was wondering...how..." he paused and let out a soft, "hm."

"Wondering what?"

"I've noticed that you've always downplayed your intelligence. I was just wondering," he shrugged.

"How far my education went before all of this happened?" He seemed embarrassed, which she found funny, considering he held no shame when he tried getting her into bed just a minute ago. "It never really stopped. My parents always spent what spare coin they had on books to better my education. They didn't want me to be just another country bumpkin. I'm sure you're better educated than I am, but in the end, as long as you don't get yourself or others killed," she shrugged. "I'm not stupid. I know that."

Though he nodded, Djinjer knew he was still curious. "I didn't mean to come off rude," he said in a reassuring manner. "Your life fascinates me. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if we met each other when we were younger and more foolish."

Djinjer chuckled, "Don't forget, before the worgen change, I was very different."

"Weren't we all?" he winked, then chuckled. "Actually, I met someone that's the exact opposite of you. She was happily married, has a few children, and after becoming a worgen, she only fancies women."

Djinjer shrugged, "I'm not surprised. If you or anyone else told me that they didn't change _at all _after becoming a worgen, hell...especially after going through what our people went through, I'd call that person a liar and hit them over the head."

Zathaniel chuckled again and turned down a hall, which Djinjer nearly missed. She hurried to catch up to him and when she did, he asked, "What do you think your life would have been like if none of that ever happened?"

Djinjer shrugged. "I imagine I wouldn't have changed much. I would still be barefoot, working on my father's farm. Other than that, I don't know, because anything could have happened. I could have moved around Gilneas or joined the military, like I wanted to. Then again, maybe I would have caught some terrible disease and died. We'll never know."

"Do you ever think about going back?"

"Of course," Djinjer murmured. "But I don't want to move back to the shell of what was. I want to move back when the city comes back to life."

"I understand," Zathaniel said quietly as he stopped in front of a door. "Maybe when this is all done and over with, we can head out there together."

Djinjer smiled at him, "Does that mean you want me to live in that big, empty house of yours?"

Zathaniel smiled and shrugged. "Perhaps. Until then, this is your room."

Djinjer rolled her eyes as he pushed open the door and hurried to light a lantern, followed by the fireplace. "I better not catch you sneaking in here when you think I'm asleep. I'll have you know, I'm a light sleeper."

Zathaniel chuckled. "I assure you, Djinjer, the only way I'll join you in bed is if you invite me."

The two grinned at each other and slowly, Zathaniel walked back over to her. "If you need me, go to the end of the hallway and take the stairs up. My room is in the tower, so you _should_ be able to find me."

"Good to know," she said and swiftly, she gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Good night," she murmured, holding her hand out to the hallway.

"Good night," he replied. "I'll be the first to knock on your door. We have quite a long journey ahead of us."

"Yeah, yeah," she murmured and with a wink, he closed the door behind him. Djinjer turned back to her room and immediately began removing her armor and clothes as she made her way to the small basin beside the window. She got as clean as possible, then immediately slipped into bed. If there was one luxury that she could keep with her forever, it would be _this_ bed, since it could be comparable to a cloud.

Djinjer slept hard and didn't wake once. In fact, when she did finally crack open her eyes, she realized that she hadn't moved once. Djinjer groaned and rolled onto her left side. "Go away," she whimpered out as someone knocked on her door, yet again. "I'm going to kill you," came her drowsy mutter. By the time Djinjer sat up, there was another knock. By the time she managed to get to her feet, there was yet another knock. Finally, Djinjer mustered the energy to storm over to the door, where she yanked it open and snarled out, "_WHAT?!_"

The Prince of Stormwind City took a step back and instantly turned crimson. His eyes bugged as he stared at her and it was only then that Djinjer remembered just where she was and what little she was wearing.

"Goodness, Djinjer! Get some clothes on before opening the door!" Zathaniel screeched, grabbing his cousin by the back of his shirt. Djinjer couldn't help but grin as the boy was yanked away from the door with such strength that he stumbled and fell face first into the floor. Zathaniel didn't even seem all that phased by injuring his cousin. "Our plans have been delayed and I'm not sure for how long. The soldiers are ready to head out to the Twilight Highlands, but the fleet preparations lag behind. Varian wants us to figure out what exactly is going on."

Djinjer lifted a brow. "Okay," she said with a shrug. "So...do I need to come along for this?"

Zathaniel smiled, "No, but I'd like the company."

"Thanks," Anduin muttered from the hallway.

"If something should happen, Anduin, it would be nice to have someone to watch over you or even bring you back to your father."

"So you're bringing me as a baby sitter?" Djinjer asked, walking over to her gear.

"No and no," Zathaniel snatched her wrist as she reached for the banged up boot on the floor. "I want you there to protect Anduin and to spend time with me...and that armor is no good. Anduin! Bring the gear in!"

Djinjer watched as the young prince shoved a large crate into the doorway, then shoved it from the other side until he approached her. Still as flushed as ever, Anduin was certain to find _anything_ else to look at other than her. With Zathaniel's help, Djinjer removed the lid of the crate, and began removing pieces. She slipped them on as she removed them until she was fully geared and equipped with a new weapon. "Is this helmet lined with wool?"  
"No," Anduin said, finally looking at her. "It's Embersilk. We've discovered that it protects soldiers from the extreme weather conditions."

"Ah," Djinjer lifted her brows. "I haven't been in this good of armor since...well, since the last time your family bought some for me."

"Weren't you working on becoming a blacksmith?"

"I was...for a while," Djinjer said with a grin. "I suppose I should get back to it once I can settle down for a while. But enough about that. Let's get this show on the road. Who in the world are we looking for?"

"Supply Sergeant Graves. He should be at the docks."

"Then to the docks we go!" Djinjer said clasping her hands together.

"No," Zathaniel bit his lip. "We need to find Major Samuelson to check in on his investigations of the Twilight's Hammer. That should go quickly enough and after that, we'll go to the docks."

"Right," Djinjer smiled at Anduin. "And you're coming along for the entire ride, right?"

"Considering everything that's happened recently, my father doesn't let me go out of the city. This is as much of an adventure as I'll get." Anduin walked by her side as Zathaniel lead the way. They turned down several halls, none of which Djinjer actually recognized and finally...Djinjer noticed something very different about Zathaniel.

"Where's Brutus?" Djinjer asked. Normally, his four legged companion was like another limb of him and yet, he was no where to be found.

"Brutus has officially retired," Zathaniel said over his shoulder. "Nearly three months ago, he was injured very badly. Tess took care of him while he recovered and I realized then that my Brute is getting old. I've had him for ten years now and Tess always loved him so much that I decided to leave him in her care. You'd think he'd have a hard time adjusting, but he isn't."

Djinjer lifted a brow. "I know I wouldn't. A soft bed, good food, no one trying to kill you...sounds like an excellent life."

"He still travels with me when I know there won't be danger and he's normally by my side when I'm here, but he sees my gear and he knows...and so if we went to my dear cousin's room, we'd find him sprawled out on a mageweave pillow." Zathaniel shot me a grin over his shoulder.

"So...did you get another companion?" Djinjer asked, wondering what other sort of animal would suit him. She thought, maybe one of those large turtles would do...or perhaps a big gorilla.

"I have," Zathaniel replied.

"She's _beautiful_," Anduin murmured with a smile.

"So...where is _she_?" Djinjer asked, glancing between the two young men.

"Well," Zathaniel sighed heavily, "She's resting and waiting for our journey to begin." Zathaniel turned around and walked backwards, "Major Samuelson can normally be found lurking around the throne room, but lately," he turned around again, "he's been lurking elsewhere."

"Doesn't sound like you're too fond of him," Djinjer muttered.

"Oh, you can tell," Zathaniel chuckled. They turned down and into a room, where a fully geared man stood in the corner, flipping through a book. "Samuelson," the man spun around, shutting the book with a snap.

"Oh, it's _you_," the man sneered.

"I was told to assist you in your investigation of the Twilight's Hammer within Stormwind City. Prince Anduin and our comrade will be joining me."

Samuelson absently scratched his stubble covered chin, "My investigations reveal, ah, it's likely that there's trouble brewing among the Stormwind dock workers." Djinjer blinked several times at the man. "Shifty lot. Don't trust 'em." Djinjer could see Zathaniel tense up. It was obvious that he was just as suspicious of this man's behavior as she was. "You should go there and shake the place down. Start grilling those longshoremen. That should keep you busy!"

"Hm," Zathaniel stared at the Major for a moment before turning to face them. The look he gave her said it all; he didn't trust Major Samuelson.

As soon as they left the Keep, Zathaniel turned to the two of them. "I really don't like that man," Zathaniel murmured, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I felt like he was being shady," Djinjer murmured.

"Major Samuelson is always that way," Prince Anduin said. "Father thinks he's just a few cards short of a full hand, so to speak."

"Then why is he a Major?" Djinjer asked.

Anduin shrugged. "He wasn't very polite."

"I thought it was odd that he was reading about the royal bloodline," Djinjer said and Zathaniel nodded in reply.

"Regardless, we have to check out the docks, just in case the moron is right."

"Agreed," Anduin said, nearly squirming with anticipation. Djinjer smiled. She remembered being that way when she was younger. She and Anduin followed Zathaniel to the stables where they mounted two horses. Djinjer rode on her own horse while Anduin rode behind Zathaniel.

The ride to the docks was a pleasant one, what with everyone greeting the prince ever so joyously. It brought a smile to her face and though she would never admit it, not in a thousand years, Djinjer actually enjoyed riding beside the prince. It somehow made her feel more important than she really was. Upon arriving at the docks, Djinjer noticed that they were basically killing two birds with one stone. "We'll talk to Supply Sergeant Graves first, then we'll go on to do the task given to us by Major Samuelson."

Supply Sergeant Graves, flushed and sweating, was looking over several large crates and scribbling away furiously on a piece of paper. He spun around and shouted at two of the nearest men, sending both back to work immediately. Djinjer watched the two men struggle to move one crate. An inaudible sound erupted from the man as he spotted the three of them and immediately, he bowed in front of the prince.

"Supply Sergeant Graves," Zathaniel's booming voice sounded full of authority. Djinjer couldn't help but grin, considering how natural this tone sounded coming from him. "We were sent by King Varian to check on the progress of your men."

The supply sergeant looked between Zathaniel and Anduin and finally decided on addressing the prince directly. "P-please understand, Your Highness, the men are working double-shifts. The scale of your father's operation is enormous. We are working longer shifts just to wrap things up. I give you my word."

Prince Anduin looked uncomfortable as he looked around. "I understand that it must be hard, moving such large crates with so few men."

"Aye, it is," Graves replied. "Many of my men have fallen sick or exhausted. They're overworking themselves in this heat!"

The prince frowned at him, "I'll see to it that all of you receive extra pay from my father."

Zathaniel cleared his throat, catching the prince's attention. "We've also come on another matter."

Graves, seeming relieved by the prince's statement, seemed less stressed and already eager to please Zathaniel. "What might that matter be?"

"It's come to our attention that there has been some odd behavior among some of your men. Would you mind if we questioned them?" Djinjer looked around at the men. None of them looked particularly suspicious. In fact, all of them looked dead tired.

"No, no, question away, but I assure you, if it's odd behavior you're concerned about, blame the sun. I'm pretty sure at least two of them out there are suffering from being out in this sun and heat too long!"

"Thank you for your cooperation," Zathaniel gave the man a nod and both he and Anduin began walking away. When Djinjer didn't follow, Zathaniel turned and blinked at her.

"Is there anything I could do to help?" Djinjer asked, looking back at the supply sergeant.

The tired, sweat soaked man sighed softly and shrugged. "Look here, if you want to help speed things up around here, get Flintlocke off my back. A whole shipment of siege engine parts was misplaced and now it's scattered all up and down the dock. If you gather up the missing parts and get them to Flintlocke, he can finish construction."

Djinjer lifted a brow, "And where's this Flintlocke?"

Graves pointed across from him to a dwarf that was steadily yelling at workers that passed him or came near him and when there was no one around, he made sure to curse and snarl to himself. Djinjer grinned and with a shrug, she said, "No problem."

"You'll know them when you see them," he told her, "They're about this big, by this wide." Djinjer nodded and turned to the duo across from her, "Go on ahead of me. I'm going to help out over here."

Immediately, Djinjer began looking around for the missing parts, but then, only after she saw small boxes that were approximately the size the supply sergeant told her to look for, did she find what she was looking for. The damn parts were still in their boxes and each box that resembled the first one was scattered all over the place. No wonder the workers couldn't find them! Djinjer checked every box that resembled the first. When she had all of the pieces together and couldn't find another, Djinjer walked over to this Flintlocke Dwarf and cleared her throat.

The irritable Dwarf turned around with a loud, "Eh, wot?!"

"Got your parts," Djinjer told him, pushing them toward him. The Dwarf didn't thank her. In fact, he didn't say anything else as he greedily dug through the machine parts, tossing choice picks over his shoulder. Djinjer sighed and shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked around for the prince and Zathaniel. She found them standing in front of a down right terrified working and judging from the look on Zathaniel's face, she would be down right terrified, too!

"Oh aye, 'ere's the stuff." He stuck his head all the way into one of the crates, then immediately pulled it out, grumbling angrily. "Where's me powder? Everything's here but for the powder."

"No one told me anything about powder," Djinjer snapped back.

"I need explosives, woman! You tell King Varian, no powder, no power! I need me some kerplosions or I ain't leavin' port!"

"Will do, you angry git," she huffed out as she stormed away. When she approached Zathaniel and the prince, she found them talking quietly to each other. "So what did you two find out?"

"The dockworkers didn't know anything," Zathaniel told her. "What were you doing over there?"

"Angry dwarf wants powder," she shrugged. "Gotta tell your dear cousin that all of the explosives are missing," she grinned. "So then what's going on if the dockworkers don't know anything?"

"We're going to check his records at the SI:7 Headquarters. We're certain he knows more than he's letting on. He probably has a lead on Twilight's Hammer and wants the credit and glory for himself." Anduin frowned. "I have a bad feeling that those missing explosives has something to do with what's going on with the farmers."

"Farmers?"

"Anduin was telling me that the local farmers have been complaining about missing livestock. Varian's promised someone would investigate, but the city guard is stretched so thin that it'll take weeks before someone can get out there. We were thinking, if you don't mind, we can check that out before heading to the SI:7 quarters."

"Lead the way," she said, walking back toward the horses.

Again, the trio mounted up and rode through the city until they came upon their location. Djinjer had never been in the northern section of Stormwind City. It was actually quite beautiful, what with its farm land sitting just behind the graveyard and beside the lake. Seeing this area actually brought a twinge of pain to her heart only because it reminded her of her home back in Gilneas.

Djinjer sighed softly as they dismounted and her feet sunk just a bit into the ground. Soft ground...as strange as it may have seemed, she missed something as simple as that. As they dismounted their horses, an older farmer walked out of his small house. Seeing the prince, he gasped and yanked off his hat, collapsing awkwardly down on one knee. "Y-y-your Highness!"

Again, Anduin looked uncomfortable. Though this time, she was certain it was because there was obviously something wrong with the old man's knee and yet, he still dropped to that knee out of respect for his young prince and future king. Djinjer immediately felt bad for wondering if this old man would live to see Anduin become king. "Zathaniel," Anduin said softly and just like that, Zathaniel walked over to the old man and helped him up. "City guard is being stretched thin and so I have personally come to attend to the matters here."

The man blinked and scratched his head, seeming a touch confused. "You're here about the livestock?"

"Y-yes," Anduin said, a touch of a blush adoring his cheeks.

"Oh," the man bowed his head and said, "if you'll follow me around back..."

"Of course," Anduin walked beside the farmer while Zathaniel and Djinjer followed.

"He's handling this very professionally," Zathaniel said with a pleased expression.

Djinjer shrugged, "He seems nervous...not to mention, he doesn't like to see people bow before him."

"Would you?" Zathaniel asked. Djinjer chuckled as they came to a stop and winked at Zathaniel in reply.

"I normally just let the cows graze north of the house here. Occasionally, one gets spirited away. Leaves a trail of gore." He shook his head and placed his hat back on. "Who would do such a thing? I'm afraid to follow that trail myself...something sick is happening in Stormwind!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Note:** _Here's to hoping there aren't too many mistakes! :P Hope you guys enjoy.  
_

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There was nothing quite like the stench of rotting meat. No matter how hard she pressed the back of her armored hand against her nose, she couldn't keep the aroma from invading her nostrils. Djinjer gagged loudly and hunched over as she walked closer to the large section of cow that was left behind. Judging from the bones, this piece of meat came from the ribs. "Nope," she whispered, shaking her head. "I can't do it."

"What's wrong?" Zathaniel called out from a safe distance. Djinjer spun around and glared at the three men watching her.

"_What's wrong_?!" She repeated in a high pitched shriek. "This stench could send the Undead running!"

She immediately became irritated as Zathaniel chuckled loudly. "Just keep going!"

"No!" she snarled back. "You better get your—huaaagghuuuuch—_just get over here!_" Djinjer finally yanked off a glove and shoved two of her fingers up her nose. She took shallow breaths as Zathaniel and the prince hesitantly made their way over. "I don't even know why you sent me out here on my own! What if something terrible is going on over there?"

Zathaniel chuckled and glanced at the meat, only to continue to the next piece. He crouched down, brushed off some maggots (both she and the prince gagged, but Anduin was somehow classier about it), and looked up. "There's a trail of blood heading that way," he pointed to the west. "Looks like there's some more meat up there, too."

"I fink I'm gunna be sick," Djinjer said with a groan.

"What? It's just meat." Zathaniel grinned at her and picked up the mutilated leg, giving it a shake. "It's still good enough to eat."

Djinjer rolled her eyes and stormed along the path of blood with Anduin close behind her. "You're a sick fu—"

"_Hey_, there's a _prince_ in our company."

Djinjer glanced back at Anduin and found him mimicking her with his fingers in his nostrils. The boy paled a little as Zathaniel snatched up an eyeball and wiggled it at them. "Zathaniel, I'm going to warn you one time and one time only..._stop messing with the gore_."

"Or what?" he asked sweetly, tossing the eyeball over his shoulder.

"Or I'm going to castrate you with my _fist_."

Zathaniel _laughed_. He actually laughed! Hunched over—hands on knees—tears brimming—laughing! Djinjer shot him a glare and grabbed the prince's wrist. She dragged him quickly through the brush until they found exactly what they were looking for. Anduin gasped loudly, "What is this place? Ugh...that _smell_."

"I didn't think it could get worse," Djinjer murmured, pulling her fingers from her nostrils. She looked around, horrified to see pieces of the cows here and there, but the most disturbing part about this was that the cows' hearts and brains were sitting upon a lit alter, while their intestines and other organs, including their hides (which were being strung between branches), hung from the limbs of the very tree that hid these activities from the world.

Djinjer followed Anduin closely, "Look," he murmured. "Some sort of rituals were performed at this altar. It looks like the kind of pagan initiation ritual that Velen once told me about. Bloody. Disgusting."

"I don't quite care what it is or why they're doing this, I just want it to be done and never repeated. We should get back to Zathaniel. I don't feel comfortable here." Djinjer glanced back at the prince and found him braving the gore that adorned the altar, just to get a better look at the engravings on it.

"There's so much blood and dirt that I can't make it out." Anduin turned back to her, his eyebrows furrowing together. "Who do you think," he looked up at cocked his head, only for his eyes to widen as a golden light appeared around him, "Djinjer! Look out behind you!"

Djinjer spun around, immediately withdrawing her sword. Covered in bloody runes, a man let out a shrill cry, charging her. "_Damn it_!" she cursed, blocking his attack.

"There's another!"

This time, Djinjer saw where the culprits were appearing from. The hides were make-shift hammocks that these cultists were using to sleep or rest on! Djinjer growled and kicked the cultist away from her, only to impale him on her sword. She turned to face the second attacker, but instead, she let out a little gasp. Quickly and elegantly, Zathaniel shoved a dagger into the neck of the second cultist, while raising his pistol to the other's temple. He didn't hesitate as he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through the woman's head.

"Are you alright?" Zathaniel asked Anduin as he sheathed his weapons, as if nothing happened.

Djinjer watched him in amazement as he looked his young cousin over and sighed in relief. "I'm fine," Anduin murmured, looking away from the woman that was gasping for air and bleeding profusely from her neck. "Did you have to make her suffer?"

Zathaniel glanced over his shoulder, his eyes meeting hers first before settling on the woman behind Djinjer. Djinjer also looked back at the second woman and third attacker. It _did_ seem wrong to watch her suffer, but Djinjer had a feeling that if the tables were turned, this woman wouldn't care. Djinjer clenched her sword in both hands and turned, driving the sword deep within the woman's chest. Her crazed eyes thanked Djinjer before they became unfocused. With a foot on her chest, Djinjer withdrew her sword and turned back to her companions. Zathaniel gave her a nod and looked back at Anduin.

Anduin gulped and shook his head, "It looks like this site was used for some kind of twisted Twilight's Hammer initiation ritual. They're definitely active in Stormwind." He held up his hand, revealing a badge sitting upon his palm. "I plucked this off of the altar before we were attacked."

"It looks old," Zathaniel said, grabbing the badge from him. "If we keep poking around, we might just figure out what it means." Anduin nodded in agreement. "Are you sure you're okay? We can return—"  
"No," Anduin said firmly. "I want to see this thing through. We don't have to tell my father about the ambush. If he finds out about another attempt on my life, he'd never allow me out of that keep..."

"We may as well let the farmer know what's going on. What do we do about the bodies?" Djinjer asked, nudging the first attacker with her foot.

Zathaniel took a deep breath and lifted a brow at her, "Think you can take care of him?"

"Of course, why?"

"You two head over to SI:7 Quarters. I'll tend to this and we'll meet there." He looked back at Anduin. "I don't care what you find. Stay there or go home. Do _not_ let me catch you trying to handle all of this on your own."

"Trust me, I won't."

"And I promise I won't let him," Djinjer said flashing a smile at the young prince. Together, the three of them walked back to the curious farmer, only for Djinjer and Anduin to mount the same horse.

Once they were out of the farmland, Anduin said, "Thank you for being here."

"It's not a problem," Djinjer replied, then quickly added, "Your Highness."

"You don't have to do that," he said gently.

"You're a prince. You shouldn't correct people that address you as such," Djinjer said with a shrug.

The prince didn't reply right away and instead, decided to change the subject. "My cousin seems to care for you greatly." Djinjer sighed. This was _not_ about to happen. "May I ask what you feel toward him?

Djinjer brought the horse to a stop. "I would answer if I knew," was her answer. "Which way?"

"That way," he pointed and Djinjer had their horse continue on. "I'm just curious. We may have met not that long ago, but I've come to care for Zathaniel like an older brother or a young uncle."

Djinjer smiled. "I understand your concern and...well, I think we're good now."

"You weren't before?"

"Considering I was doing everything I could to avoid him, what do you think?" Again, he was quiet. Djinjer bit her lip as she thought for a second, "I may not be able to voice my feelings yet, but I can assure you..."

"That way," he directed.

She nodded and pulled the horse around, "Zathaniel will be safe with me...and I mean that in every way possible. I can't promise that he won't get hurt...even by my own hand...but I can promise that his life will remain in tact and so will his heart."

Djinjer could almost feel the smile and with a glance over her shoulder, she confirmed that he was, indeed, smiling. "Good. That makes me happy. I really didn't want him out there, but he insisted that he was more good to all of us if he was helping our cause."

"I can relate," she murmured. "I felt like I was wasting my time out in Stranglethorn Vale. My father would have been ashamed of me."

"Were you close to your father—no, no—you were going the right way."

"Yes," Djinjer said with an apologetic smile to a gnome she nearly trampled. The gnome waved her off irritably and curse, but immediately flushed ruby red when she saw the prince behind her. "That was close," Djinjer moaned out. "My father taught me everything I knew about combat, which wasn't much. Honestly, I had to learn most of my attacks out in the field...when Gilneas was under attack from the worgen and then the undead."

"Where's your father now?"

Djinjer shrugged, "Deep beneath the water, off the south western coast of Gilneas, I suppose."

"Oh," Anduin's voice lowered. "I'm terribly sorry."

"It's okay," Djinjer murmured. "I accepted their death and mourned long ago."

"It wasn't that long ago," Anduin murmured back.

"That may be so," Djinjer said, bringing their horse to another stop, "but I certainly can't dwell, can I? The best I can do is continue living my life and bring honor to my family."

"It's just around the bend over here." She thanked him with a nod. "Did you lose a lot of friends in the war?"

Djinjer thought back to the women she had befriended shortly before she was thrust into battle. It was the first time she thought about their smiling faces. "I lost all but...a few." She wondered what Elijah was up to...and Kimberly. Was Kimberly living a good life in Tirisfal, or was she training to become a strong opponent? Djinjer dreaded the day she would find out. "Is that the place?"

"Yes," Anduin murmured as she slowly brought their horse to a final stop. "Djinjer," she turned to him as they dismounted, "I'm so sorry that you went through all of that."

Djinjer smiled, "I am, too...but at the same time, if I hadn't, where would we be? You wouldn't know that I existed. You would have never met your cousin. Hell, I'd probably be a depressed farmer."

Anduin nodded, "I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason."

"So am I," she smiled at him and he smiled back. "Well, Samuelson's files should be on the third floor, all the way up the spiral staircase."

Djinjer shielded her eyes as she looked up. She let out a low whistle and asked, "They'll just let us in?"

"Of course," Anduin rose up on his tiptoes with a sheepish grin. "I _am_ their prince."

"Indeed, you are!" Djinjer couldn't help but chuckle as she followed him into the SI:7 Quarters.

For being the headquarters of the elite SI:7, Djinjer wasn't impressed. There were a few people here and there that shot them glances, bowed to the prince, and got back to business. "Nobody here will question it if the Prince of Stormwind wants to glance through some files." Djinjer grinned at him as they made their way up the first set of stairs, where they gained the attention of an important looking man, but continued up the spiraling staircase. "Hm," Anduin murmured as he sat at a lone desk. He opened several drawers, looked over several documents, then chewed on his lip a bit before slamming his fist on the desk. He shot her a grin as a secret compartment slid out from the desk.

"Look," Djinjer snatched up a badge that looked identical to the badge Anduin had found.

He quickly grabbed up the notes and read them over, shaking his head. "This is all wrong. There's nothing in here about the Twilight's Hammer. Nothing at all. What is Samuelson playing at?" Anduin looked up at her with questioning eyes.

"I didn't trust him before, but finding an identical badge in _those_ notes? It can't be a coincidence." Djinjer shrugged.

"There's only one person I trust to sort this all out: Mathias Shaw, the director of the SI:7. You have to show him these badges and see what he thinks."

"Why me?"

Anduin stood up, "I'm going to go back to the Keep to watch Samuelson like a hawk!" He handed her the badge he found and took a deep breath. "Stay safe."

"The same goes for you," Djinjer said, taking a step back as the prince fished out a hearthstone from his pocket. She gave him a wave as the green light engulfed him and suddenly, he disappeared, leaving Djinjer alone in the SI:7 Quarters. She took a deep breath of her own and wondered, would this Mathias Shaw even listen to her?

Djinjer made her way down the spiral staircase and immediately locked eyes with the same man that stared her down just moments before. She cleared her throat and asked, "Mathias Shaw?" He merely lifted a brow, which wasn't exactly an answer. "If you are Mathias Shaw, then I have something for you."

He gave the goblin next to him a glance,"And what could that be?"

Djinjer placed the badges in his hand, "There was a small investigation in the farmlands," she didn't exactly know what to say, "and the prince discovered that," she pointed at the filthy one, "on an alter that was covered in animal remains. The alter was set up, it seems, by the Twilight's Hammer cult. But...he discovered this same one in some hidden files upstairs. He told me to give them to you."

Mathias Shaw looked the badges over for a moment before shaking his head. "I recognize the symbol on these badges from before Deathwing's attack on the city. It belonged to the soldiers in the old barracks in the west part of town, overlooking the harbor. Your timing couldn't be better. One of my top agents, Jack Bauden, has been trying to infiltrate the Twilight's Hammer cult for quite some time. Last night, he went missing. If you and Anduin are right about these, the cultists may be holed up in the old barracks."

"How will I know who your man is?"

"His name is Jack Bauden. I'm certain he's being held captive. Even if he somehow managed to infiltrate the enemy, he would have gotten back in contact with us."

Djinjer nodded. "Consider it done." He nodded at her, as did the goblin, and immediately, she made her way back down the stairs where she exited the building. She bit the insides of her cheeks to refrain from grinning as Zathaniel was just bringing his horse to a stop. "It's about time you showed up."

"I'm sorry, dear. Am I late for dinner?"

She rolled her eyes and walked back over to her horse. "So let me fill you in. We checked in on Samuelson's reports and ended up finding the _same _type of badge that we found on the alter with the Twilight's Hammer cultists. Anduin returned home to keep an eye on Samuelson and Mathias Shaw wants us to go to the Old Barracks and kill whatever enemies we find there and rescue someone named Jack."

"Jack Bauden?" Djinjer lifted a brow in question. "I know the guy. Let's get going."

Without Prince Anduin being in their company, riding through the streets of Stormwind City seemed easier. No one stopped what they were doing to acknowledge them. Needless to say, they got to their destination both easily and quickly. Zathaniel dismounted his horse first, which confused Djinjer, just because they were technically still in Mage Quarter. "Why did we stop here?" she finally asked, dismounting her own horse.

"Because, there are no guards around over there. If they hear or know that we're coming," he shrugged, "There are enough rooms and passages for them to hide in."

"But this isn't Gilneas. You don't know about those passages."

Zathaniel grinned. "I know how to be stealthy and I know how to murder someone without making a sound." When Djinjer brows arched, Zathaniel chuckled and pulled her in close, kissing her forehead. "Don't get into trouble and _try_ to be quiet. The element of surprise will be our friend."

Djinjer snorted, "I know, I know. I'm not that much of a moron." He chuckled again and together, the two of them made their way down the ruins and back up. Sure enough, there were a few cultists in the area and none of them noticed either of them. With wide eyes, Djinjer stared at her companion, whom had readied a bow. "Where do you keep pulling weapons from?"

Zathaniel sighed softly. "Keep your voice down, love. If you must know, I had it attached on my horse and decided to bring it along with us."

"Oh," she said as he let the arrow fly. With a gurgling groan, the cultist died. They continued sneaking through the ruins, hiding here and there, taking out cultists as they went. So far, there was only one enemy that put up a struggle and she was quickly dispatched by Zathaniel before Djinjer could even cross the small, broken wall. With a huff, she finally muttered, "I wonder if I'll get to do anything."

Zathaniel grinned wickedly at her and winked. "Maybe later."

Djinjer grumbled, but continued following Zathaniel. As they approached the ruins of the barracks, he hushed her—not that he needed to. Djinjer was silent, even if she wore a suit of heavy armor that should make plenty of sound. He took a careful look around while straining his human ears to hear for any signs that they may be surrounded. Djinjer exhaled slowly as he peaked over the broken wall of the barracks, then gave her a thumbs up. Djinjer stood up and as quietly as she could, began making her way over the wall.

Jack Bauden sat in the corner of the barracks, weighed down by a heavy net. Only his head was exposed, which was heavily bruised and bloodied. Zathaniel pulled his arrow taught and without another second lost, he released it and killed Jack's guard. Jack didn't stir and immediately, Djinjer's stomach tightened. Were they too late? The two hurried over to the unconscious man, but Djinjer turned her back to him and withdrew her weapon. "Bauden!" Zathaniel hissed, giving him a shake. "Bauden!"

"Give him a smack," Djinjer hissed at him. "And _try_ to hurry!"

_Smack!_

Jack Bauden gasped, then whimpered pitifully. Djinjer couldn't ever describe how tickled she was that Zathaniel actually listened to her. "Gilneau? ...What are you doing here?"

"You owe me for those drinks I bought you." Jack tried to laugh, but winced. "We're getting you out of here," he said, working on the netting with a knife.

The trio immediately fell silent as the floorboards above them creaked and groaned loudly. Zathaniel groaned and quickly worked on the netting as Djinjer gripped her weapon even tighter in her gloved hands. She stared at the top of the stairs, just waiting for a boot to appear. The cultist came down the stairs quickly and loudly, he glanced at her and at first—dismissed her, then gasped and shouted, "Guys—" but he didn't get the chance to finish. With all of her might, Djinjer sent her sword soaring through the air like a spear. It slammed into the cultist's abdomen, pinning him against the wooden support frame of the wall.

"_Djinjer!_" Zathaniel hissed. "_You don't throw your damn weapon!_"

And judging from the thundering footsteps above, he was—as always—right. Djinjer didn't wait for the cultists to appear one by one. She shifted into her worgen form and decided that she would fight them with her claws and teeth. As three cultists maneuvered around her sword and their pinned brother, Djinjer charged them.

A small explosion made her ears ring and the force of it sent her crashing into the smallest of the three enemies, knocking him unconscious. Zathaniel cursed loudly. "Damn it, Djinjer!" he growled out, "This isn't the arena!"

With a glance over her shoulder, she understood what happened. Zathaniel had fired his pistol just as she charged into the fight and judging from the wound he was now sporting, the bullet had hit her and ricocheted off of her armor. Though one of their enemies seemed amused, that didn't stop him from attacking her. Ignoring Zathaniel, Djinjer did what she did best. She let her inner beast take control and she fought like the feral worgen once fought in Gilneas. She was a fury of claws and teeth, quickly dispatching the cultists one by one as they so stupidly ran down the stairs to meet their deaths.

After the last was dead, she looked up at a looming shadow at the top of the stairs. The hulk of a man grinned down at her as he held up a small, red pellet. He chucked it at her and immediately it exploded. With her first breath, she inhaled the small cloud of smoke and immediately began coughing. Her eyes began burning and the more she wiped at them, the more they burned. Djinjer couldn't even gasp as the brute kicked her, sending her sprawling on the floor.

"Step away from our prisoner," the brute snarled, placing his foot on Djinjer's throat, "or I'll kill your little puppy."

Blinded and still gasping for air, Djinjer could do nothing but swat at the brute's leg...and judging from the sounds her claws made against his ankles, he was wearing armor. "Well," Zathaniel sounded smug, "you could get your foot off of her and we could kill you quickly—so that you didn't feel any pain." The cultist grunted. "It's honestly the best offer we could make you."

"Do you not feel the master's gaze?! It watches us all! Soon, we will live in a world ruled by the master and I, his faithful servant, will be rewarded and revered as as a hero! Lower your gun...or your puppy gets it." Djinjer growled as she heard the gun land heavily on the stone floor. The cultist chuckled, "Too bad you believed me." As soon as he lifted his foot, Djinjer not only threw herself out of the way, but another shot was fired.

"How many guns do you have, Gilneau?!" Bauden asked.

"Plenty. Let's get you out of here. Djinjer, are you alright?"

"I will be," she said, coughing more as she returned to her human form. "I think that smoke bomb was filled with cinnamon!" She wiped at her eyes again as she got to her knees.

"We have two horses outside near the mage quarter. Do you think you'll be able to walk there?" At first, Djinjer thought Zathaniel was asking her, but as she finally opened her burning eyes, she saw he was talking to Jack. The man slowly stood and though he wavered and looked frail, he nodded.

"Is she going to be okay?" Jack asked as another wave of cleansing tears filled her eyes.

Djinjer did her best to wipe the pain away and decided that even if her vision wasn't clear, she was getting out of here. She blinked several times and sighed heavily, "I'm good to go," she said, yanking her sword from the wall and making her way to the very wall that they had entered from.

As they continued to make their way back to the horses, Zathaniel asked, "So, how long were you there?"

"Only a day," Jack replied. "Despite the pain I've gone through and the thought that I might die in there, I feel my capture was worth it. If you don't mind, I'll take one of these horses back to headquarters. I need to report in."

"If you have important information, you can report to us directly, Jack."

Though he looked hesitant to inform the two of them, he nodded as if remembering just who Zathaniel was. "The Twilight's Hammer has been stealing and stockpiling explosives coming into the harbor. Somehow, they've gotten access to the catacombs underneath the Cathedral of Light. I've heard talk of someone called, "The Black Bishop." I don't know when it's supposed to be going off, so if I were the two of you, I'd hurry, or thousands of people could lose their lives."

Zathaniel immediately hopped onto his horse and Djinjer gasped as he damn near pulled her onto the back. She was still adjusting herself on the horse as he sent it racing through the streets. "Do you think you can keep up with me?"

"Of course," Djinjer muttered as she wrapped her arms around his abdomen. "My eyes are clear now and I can breathe."

"We need to work together," Zathaniel called out as he pushed the horse to run faster. "We cannot afford to make anymore mistakes."


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: **_Hope you guys enjoy! There may be typos...but some are intentional! I'm thrilled that I finally caught up to the point of where my screencaps finish! That means I get to play for the next section of the storyline! That being said, the next chapter may take a little bit longer to come out. 3  
_

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Since Zathaniel and Kimberly's wedding, Djinjer had never really cared for cathedrals. They made her think of a harsher time; a time that broke her heart and always made her feel lost within the large world of Azeroth. Djinjer ignored the feeling of discomfort as she followed Zathaniel up the stone steps to the cathedral. Djinjer grinned as she watched Zathaniel wipe his feet upon the carpet outside of the cathedral before making his way inside. Djinjer followed him around the narrow hallway and into the main hall. "Greetings, civilians! Welcome to the Cathedral of Light!"

Zathaniel looked around for a moment, then squinted his eyes at a doorway that was hardly noticeable. With a glance at her, Zathaniel ignored the clergyman and continued through the moderately cool halls. The doorway led to a passage that wound down to the next floor. There, they were met with several tables, a bishop of sorts, and yet another passage. "That has to be it," Zathaniel whispered to her.

Djinjer shrugged and followed him closer than before. If something was going to jump out at them, she wanted to be prepared. They quietly made their way down the stairs, ignoring the numerous spiderwebs that seemed to decorate the dim passages. "This is the catacombs," Zathaniel murmured, more to himself than to her.

Djinjer, however, replied anyway. "Really? I thought it was a sauna, what with all the coffins lying around."

Of all the reactions she expected from Zathaniel, she didn't think he'd swat her on her backside with a grin. He then held his finger up against his lips and Djinjer, though she shot him a glare, nodded and continued following him quietly.

"Whispers...whispers...I can hear the whispers..."

Another crazed voice joined in, "Nothing, nothing, we are nothing. The grasper touches our hearts and clenches his fist."

"This is creepy," Djinjer mouthed to Zathaniel. He only nodded once and grabbed the swords which adorned his hips. Carefully and hesitantly, Djinjer withdrew her own sword and perked her ears up. "I can barely see in here," she whispered and with another grin, Zathaniel stretched his neck out and shook his head, silently shifting into his worgen form.

Djinjer attempted to do the same, but once she transformed, she heard someone calmly ask, "What was that?"

"Sounded like it came from the entrance." That voice belonged to a woman.

"Be quiet, you fool. If it's an innocent person, they'll be frightened away and then what will happen? This could all be for nothing." A third voice spoke firmer and slightly louder.

"We should still check it out," the first voice murmured.

Zathaniel gently pushed her back up the stairs as he pressed his back against the wall. He took a deep breath and readied his weapons and Djinjer gripped the handle of her weapon, slowly bringing it to her side like a cricket bat.

"Look at these idiots," the female speaker said. "They're completely out of their minds."

"The sun eclipses! Darkness crawls through earth and ash. The seas are as blood!" The female chuckled and the three cultists stepped into view.

Zathaniel struck quickly, swinging his swords and slamming them into the chest of the nearest cultist. Djinjer, on the other hand, took one step forward and swung with all of her strength. To this day, it still amazed her that a head could pop off so easily from the neck. The female cultist let out a shriek as she grabbed her face. The tip of Djinjer's blade had sliced her just below the eyes. With another quick strike, Djinjer sliced the female cultist's neck open, sending her sinking to her knees.

The two left the woman to bleed to death and took a right. Crazed citizens lined the walls here and there, whispering to themselves without acknowledging Djinjer and Zathaniel or anyone else, for that matter. Zathaniel pressed his back against the wall and peered around another corner, but the coast was clear, minus the crazed citizens. Quietly, the duo continued along their catacombs, hoping that they wouldn't run into anymore problems. Of course, that wasn't going to happen. Both Djinjer and Zathaniel became alert as they heard the shuffling of footsteps just in front of them. From an alcove in the wall, two cultists charged toward them, one with a crudely fashioned shank and the other with appeared to be a mace forged from the femur's of the deceased.

Zathaniel reacted quickly, dodging and landing his own attacks while Djinjer quickly discovered that a long sword in a tight hallway wasn't going to help her. Djinjer growled as she dropped her sword and landed several attacks with her sharp claws. The cultist she was fighting had fear in his eyes, which made him hesitate to attack her. Because of this, Djinjer bit down onto his throat and shook her head until his neck popped and he stopped struggling. Djinjer released him and grabbed her sword, sheathing it quickly. She looked over at Zathaniel and even in the darkness of the catacombs, she could tell that he was grinning.

He chuckled ever so softly as he walked past her, but as soon as the turned the final corner and made their way down another set of stairs, they found just what they were looking for. The older man, with his painted face and twisted expression, was clearly a high priest within the Twilight's Hammer. He stood before another alcove, which was filled with the missing explosives. "I knew our plans would be found out, but you're too late! The game is afoot! But you are a mere pawn, whereas I am _The Black Bishop_!" Djinjer snarled angrily as she charged into the room, attempting to swipe and bite at the Bishop. Her teeth snapped shut with a click. "The Bishop moves diagonally!"

Thankfully, Zathaniel was quicker than she was, because he managed to slice the Bishop's chest with both swords before he disappeared again. "Bishop threatens pawn..." the Bishop breathed out and this time, both Zathaniel and Djinjer charged at him, only the two slammed their shoulders together and Djinjer was sent slamming into the wall opposite of her.

The Bishop laughed and sent a spell slamming into Zathaniel's chest. He yelped in pain, but shook his head and pushed through the spells to get closer to the Bishop. Djinjer used this distraction to charge the Bishop and though she crashed right into him, he chuckled in her face and threw his hand against her face, dazing her with a blindingly bright spell. The Bishop howled in pain as Djinjer heard a distinct thud. Zathaniel was now using his bow from the opposite side of the room. Again, the Bishop disappeared and this time, he shouted, "Check!"

Djinjer growled as she got to her feet and withdrew her sword. The Bishop's attention turned back to Zathaniel, but as soon as she gripped her sword and took the stance to charge again, the Bishop glanced at her and threw a spell her way, which allowed Zathaniel to sink his claws into the Bishop's face. The Bishop winced and again, teleported to another side of the room, "The game isn't over yet..."

"Sure it is," Zathaniel growled out. "You'll get exhausted sooner or later...and when you do, we'll be here, still hungry for your flesh!"

The Bishop squinted at them, only to turn his eyes to the explosion. "No!" Djinjer shouted as she charged him a final time. She clamped down onto his neck just as he raised his hand and to her surprise, she found Zathaniel biting down onto that arm. "Pawn..." he grunted, "takes Bishop..." Together, the two bit, tore, and shredded his flesh until he hung lifeless in their jaws. Zathaniel immediately dropped him to turn to the explosives. Djinjer imitated him and asked, "Is there anything you can do?"

Zathaniel spat a mouthful of the bishop's blood on the floor and growled irritably. "I've lost too many people and too many homes to fail now."

"Look!" Djinjer pointed at a small box on top of the explosives. Zathaniel grabbed Djinjer by the waist and lifted her. The small clock on the bombs ticked away and in horror, Djinjer did the only thing that seemed like it would matter. She grabbed the burning fuse and yanked it from the box, clamping it down in her hand. The burn hardly affected her and with a loud and heavy sigh, Djinjer looked back at Zathaniel, "We had three seconds."

Zathaniel's eyes were wide as he slowly lowered her back to the floor. He took a deep breath, glanced at the Bishop's body, and then knelt down. "Look at this," he said, pulling out a stack of papers. "It looks like they were also trying to destroy the evidence incriminating them." He thumbed through the papers, then snorted, "I can't believe it. There's a complete list of all Twilight's Hammer cultists in Stormwind. Full names, aliases, addresses...everything."

"I can't believe they would be that stupid." Djinjer murmured, watching him read over another page. "This is a letter, Djinjer."

"From?"

"Major Samuelson. Anduin was right! Samuelson is the real villain here, using his connections as commander of the city guard to disguise cult activity. He knew what was going on here! He didn't care about the lives that would be lost...the lives that he swore to protect!" Zathaniel stood up and shook his head. "I'm going to kill that bastard."

"But..." Djinjer looked at the giant pile of explosives. "Do we just leave this here?"

Zathaniel sighed heavily and walked back toward the stairs. "We have to get these crazed citizens out. We'll alert the guards outside of the cathedral."

"And if there are more cultists?"

"We kill them, Djinjer. It's as simple as that."

Djinjer nodded. Together, they returned to their human forms, followed by gathering up as many citizens as they came across, forcing them up the stairs of the catacombs where they were immediately cared for and looked after by the numerous occupants of the cathedral. Just as Zathaniel said, they alerted the guards, which quickly ran into the cathedral. The two then mounted their single horse and Zathaniel sent it racing down the streets to Stormwind Keep. Zathaniel ignored the polite or joyous greets he received from guards or other occupants of the grand hall.

"Zathaniel!" The king called out, seemingly irritated, but Zathaniel ignored him, too. Judging from the apologetic look on Anduin's face, the king had found out about Anduin's adventures.

Djinjer watched the king's expression as Zathaniel stormed over to Major Samuelson. His brows furrowed together and then curiosity filled his eyes. "Back so soon, Zathaniel? Did you learn anything from the dockworkers?"

Djinjer turned her attention back on Zathaniel and Samuelson. Zathaniel only grinned, "It's over, Samuelson." He pulled the rolled up papers incriminating Samuelson and held them up. "We know who you are and I'm here to put a stop to your little cathedral scheme."

Samuelson sighed and grinned, "Yes...yes, you Gilnean filth. It's all true. I am not ashamed. It was worth it to gain the powers to make mortal kings look like insects." Samuelson pulled a hidden dagger out from behind him and lashed at Zathaniel, which immediately hopped back into Djinjer. "I am not yet finished!" Samuelson shouted.

"Guards!" the king bellowed.

"Death to the king!" Samuelson yelled, using inhuman powers to jump directly at the king.

"Father! Watch out!" Anduin threw himself in front of his father, encasing both of them with a golden shield of light.

Samuelson was thrown back, almost to the middle of the room. Both Zathaniel and Djinjer had their weapons equipped, as did every guard in the room. Even Genn Greymane was standing securely in front of both Anduin and the king, ready to take on whatever came his way. Zathaniel fired his pistols at Samuelson, but they did very little damage as he slowly rose into the air, "Gods of shadow, Lords of twilight...give me strength!"

Djinjer watched in horror as beams of dark energy and power engulfed Samuelson, changing and warping his body violently. Finally, he fell back to the stone floor, but what stood before them was not human. Guards fired their weapons, but again, it did very little to affect the mutated Samuelson. Enraged, Zathaniel and two guards charged into combat with their swords drawn. Djinjer gripped her sword and backed away as the beast batted the two guards away with his tentacles and grabbed Zathaniel by the throat.

"Al'golath mal shal'nel..." the beast growled out. "Darkness consumes!" As it squeezed harder on Zathaniel's neck, Djinjer and several other guards charged in. Djinjer was not proud to use the king's personal guards as pawns in the fight. She hid behind the guards that were being attacked and was more than relieved when Samuelson threw Zathaniel across the room. With a glance, she saw her own king rush to his nephew's side. Knowing that Zathaniel would now be safe, Djinjer struck. She burst forth, using a guard as a stepping stool to throw herself at Samuelson. He didn't notice her until her sword sliced through what was previously an arm. He howled in pain and it was enough of a distraction for several guards to land several attacks. He wasn't concerned about them. Instead, he spun around, attempting to find her, but he was slow in this body and Djinjer was still as fast as ever.

By the time he turned to face her, Djinjer was on the other side of him and this time, a guard held her shield up _just_ for Djinjer to use as a stepping stone. Djinjer did the same thing, launching herself at the beast that swatted at the other guards, only this time, she shoved her sword into the back of his octopus-like head. The howl that erupted from him was nearly deafening, but Djinjer didn't stop to wince like so many of the soldiers. She took this opportunity to continuously stab Samuelson until he finally hunched over, sending Djinjer flying toward the throne. She crashed face first on the ground and whimpered as she was sent rolling, the blood from her mouth spraying in the air.

Injured or not, Djinjer scrambled to get to her feet and though the guards were doing a good job of attacking the injured and dying Samuelson, Djinjer took her sword and with both hands, she shoved it into and through the mutated head of Samuelson. Though his body stopped moving by his command, it still trembled. Suddenly, the same dark light that had engulfed him burst through his body, sending everyone standing near him soaring through the throne room. Djinjer slammed against the doors that lead to the rest of the keep, where Samuelson had been standing moments before. The light was nearly blinding, but when it was over, Samuelson's human body was lying in the center of the room, bleeding from plenty of stab wounds with Djinjer's sword sticking out of his head.

With a groan, she got back up to her feet and grabbed her right shoulder. King Varian slowly walked out from behind his son and approached the dead man. "I have known Samuelson my entire life. He was one of the many soldiers, the first citizens to see my son after he was born. _This_..._this_ is what he became, corrupted by the Twilight's Hammer."

"It's been going on for years," Zathaniel murmured, approaching the king with the documents that they had found.

Varian grabbed the papers and shook his head. "Despicable. Disgusting. Traitorous." He placed his foot on Samuelson's head and yanked out Djinjer's sword, holding it out in her direction. Djinjer hurried over to grab it from the king. "I am grateful that both of you and my son were able to get to the bottom of this before my city was brought to harm." He turned and looked at his son. In a lower voice, he murmured, "I've underestimated how much Anduin has grown...his command of the holy light just saved my life, if not the entire kingdom." In a commanding tone, he said, "Get this room cleaned up! I want absolutely no sign of that wretch's blood in this room."

"There are more bodies beneath the cathedral and in the old barracks," Zathaniel told him.

"Gather the bodies," he said to the guards in the room, "and have them burned."

He began storming to the doors where Djinjer was previously standing, only he stopped and turned to her. Djinjer blanched and instinctively took a step behind Zathaniel. Seeing this, Varian looked at Zathaniel and said, "Words alone cannot do justice to your and her heroism on this day. Thank you...both of you."

Zathaniel bowed to his cousin and murmured, "It's an honor."

Djinjer studied the king's features from behind Zathaniel. Before the cataclysm, Djinjer thought there couldn't be a single person out there that resembled Zathaniel more than Liam, but Varian Wrynn? He could easily pass as Zathaniel's older brother. "Walk with me," the king said to Zathaniel.

Djinjer hesitated to follow Zathaniel, but he latched onto her wrist and forced her to follow. "The time has come, Zathaniel. With Stormwind being secure, we will begin our journey to the Highlands. The bulk of our navy has already shipped out, thanks to your work earlier, but several ships filled with reinforcements remain behind. Fargo Flintlocke has prepared a seaplane that can make the journey in double-time. My original plan was to get you to the Highlands as soon as possible. We need a man like you out there. However, I think it would be best if you made your way there with the ships."

"And why is that?"

"I can trust you to protect their precious cargo. I trust you more than most, cousin."

Zathaniel's features softened as he was obviously touched by the king's trust. "But what of Fargo?"

"That's where your companion comes in." Djinjer blanched again as the two men turned to look at her. Same piercing eyes; they were definitely related. "If you are willing to ride with Flintlocke, you will arrive earlier than Zathaniel. Several heroes have already arrived in the Highlands, but our soldiers could use any help they can get. While you won't have the influence over the stationed military that Zathaniel would, I know you can be a major asset to them."

Djinjer looked between the two men and shrugged, "I guess...I could go? I mean, it's not a big problem."

"Good," the two men said together.

"Speak with Flintlocke down at the harbor and tell him about the change in plans. I have already prepared your documents, Zathaniel, which will allow you command over the soldiers of the three ships still in the dock. Djinjer," she lifted a brow, "safe journeys."

Djinjer stood at the docks, dazed and staring at a crate in curiosity. Another bored rumble came from the crate and again, the vivid blue eyes looked at her, only to blink at her slowly—as if it weren't amused by her. "Djinjer!" Djinjer looked behind her to find Zathaniel rushing down the stairs of the harbor. She smiled as he raced over to her and came to a stop just beside her, panting softly. "I don't know why I didn't just ride over here, but I'm glad I caught you before you left."

"I...didn't want to leave without a farewell of some sort," she murmured.

He smiled lovingly and pulled her into his arms, kissing her as though it could be their last. Djinjer returned both the embrace and the kiss. When their kiss ended, she placed her forehead against his and whispered, "I was hoping to get more time with you."

"That'll come soon, I promise." He placed another quick kiss against her lips, then slowly released her and took a step back from her, "I'll join you shortly in the Highlands. Be safe, love...for me."

"Of course," she said with a smile. "I better get my tail over to that angry Dwarf or he might leave without me."

Zathaniel sighed, then nodded. "Be safe," he repeated.

"You too," she said, finally turning away from him. As she walked along the dock, she looked back over her shoulder, only to see Zathaniel remove the door from the crate she had been staring at. The creature, obviously his new companion, came bounding out and it was _magnificent_. The large cat was mostly white with black spots and a blue light seemed to emit from some of the spots and certain features of the cat's face. It rubbed up on Zathaniel's legs, then immediately followed him as he walked over to the nearest ship.

"So we meet again!" Fargo Flintlocke called out, grabbing Djinjer's attention. "Look at all that armor," he whistled low. "Yer certainly gonna be heavier than that lad." Djinjer hadn't thought of that before. In fact, she just now realized that the armor made her somewhat wider than Zathaniel, too! "I'll have to ditch the cat-food I was packing, yeh know, in case we crash in the mountains and ain't rescued for weeks. On second thought...just keep the cat-food on yer lap, aye."

Djinjer blinked and looked around. "Where _is_ your seaplane?"

The Dwarf looked insulted. "Right 'ere!" he shrieked, "Open yer eyes, lass!"

Djinjer walked over to the edge of the dock and looked down and what appeared to be a tin can with wings. She refrained from groaning and looked back at the brunette dwarf. "Right the, just hop in the seaplane behind me and I'll fly yeh to the Highlands. We're to report to a feller named 'Lieutenant Fawkes.' I've promised the king we'd get there lickety-fast, so I took the liberty of ditchin' any excess weight. Like...seatbelts, parachutes, maps, stabilizers. ...Landing gear. I never actually "land" these things anyway."

"And you want me to climb down in there with you?"

"Yup," he said, holding his hand out to the plane.

Djinjer took a deep breath and came to realized that the dwarf _had_ to be joking. He could see how nervous she was and that she was doubting his little plane, so he was trying to make her scared. _Challenge accepted, sir, _she thought to herself as she climbed down into the plane. It _was_ a tight fit, what with her armor. The dwarf climbed down and grumbled something about weight, then started the engine of the plane. "Off we go!" he shouted.

The plane jerked twice, nearly snapping her neck before it finally picked up and rose into the air. Djinjer couldn't help but look over the edge of the plane as people cursed and shouted at them for leaving a thick cloud of black smoke behind them. The plane jerked and vibrated violently as he began flying it over the city. "Easy...does it..." he murmured as he pulled the plane up to go over a statue. Before she knew it, they were going over the Mage Quarter within the city. "Right then," he said, "I hate long plane rides. So I'mma gonna kick in the after-market burners and ignite our entire fuel supply in _one_ go."

"Is that safe?"

"It should be!" he shouted back to her as the plane turned toward the Keep. "Whatever yeh do...Don't. Black. Out!"

Djinjer whimpered and clenched the walls of the plane. The plane jerked harder than before and suddenly, the black smoke was replaced by streams of fire. She shrieked in terror as the plane started to go _much_ faster. For the most part, the plane soared through the air smoothly after that. So smoothly, in fact, that Fargo dozed off several times. It didn't make Djinjer feel any better, because as their destination came into view, the only thing she could think of was eating that cat-food if they crashed. Djinjer had crashed into a mountain before and _never_ wanted to experience that again.

"Hold on tight!" Fargo shouted at her as the plane began to nose dive.

Djinjer shrieked as loudly as possible as the plane was heading straight for a nearby ship. He then tilted the plane up and WHAM! Djinjer's high pitch screamed seemed to follow her as she was flung right out of the ship. The searing pain she felt was nothing compared to the sheer confusion she felt as she opened her eyes and found Fargo standing over her. She looked at the plane, sitting on top of the mast, then back down at the dwarf. "Oh, like you coulda done any better!" he shouted, throwing his hands up in the air.

Djinjer groaned loudly as she rolled over and slowly got to her feet. She was sore and just _knew_ that she was heavily bruised on her torso. Djinjer glared down at the dwarf and sighed loudly. "Look! I landed us right in front of Lieutenant Fawkes."

Djinjer looked up and found a very concerned man watching her. "Are you okay? You landed with a bounce!" Djinjer gently shook her head. "You two are the last thing I expected to see fall from the sky! Highbank is under attack!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Note: **_Sorry for not updating in a while, but with the new expansion, this chick had stuff to do! I'm happy to report that for the first time ever, I finally have a maxed out Alliance character! Hopefully updates will be more common from here on out :) Also, I know the fleet mentioned in the second half of the chapter is technically the same one that Zathaniel is supposed to be on, but considering the time frame of everything, it wouldn't make much sense. Yay for creative liberties! Enjoy!_

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The stench of burning wood and flesh filled her nostrils as Lieutenant Fawkes reached out and grabbed her hand, shaking it firmly within his own. "Welcome to the Highlands, soldier. You're here just in time."

Djinjer gasped and flinched as a small explosion erupted nearby. Bodies were flung here and there, which made the Lieutenant shout, "Horde troops just launched an assault from the air. Step up and do something about it! Clear them out! I fear if we don't hurry, that zeppelin is going to get the best of us!"

"Oi!" Djinjer looked down at her Dwarven companion. "That airship is poundin' the crap outta the walls."

"We're doing what we can to bring it down, but most of our attention has been focused on the enemy on ground." Djinjer looked back and forth between the men and removed her weapon from its sheath, hoping that would somehow comfort them.

"I've got me an idear so stupid it's genius. I just need some cannon powder." Djinjer lifted a brow in response, then looked at the Lieutenant.

"You should find some all around Highbank," Fawkes told her. "We'll be making our way to the trade area when you're ready to meet us again. Go, soldier! Thin our enemies out!"

Djinjer didn't hesitate. She immediately made her way down the stairs to the main level of the ship, where she slipped into her worgen form and snapped the neck of a female orc. The two human soldiers let out a cheer as she dashed off of the ship and engaged another orc. Normally, she would have felt bad for having attacked someone from behind, but any Horde soldier would have done the same to her. She ignored her consciousness and aimed for this orc's weak spot. Despite her perfect aim, her blade barely broke the chainmail that held together the orc's plate armor.

Infuriated, the male orc spun around and swung his axe, completely ignoring the injured woman behind him. He let out a growl as Djinjer blocked each of his attacks, then shoved against him with all of her might. He stumbled, but not enough to leave him vulnerable, so she did it again. This time, Djinjer gave him a wolfish grin, because the human woman saw what she was doing and knelt down just behind him. The orc was sent toppling over and Djinjer used the woman to jump up into the air and slam her sword down into the orc's chest.

Djinjer stared down into his furious eyes as she twisted her sword, then yanked it up. "At first glance, you look just like one of them," said the female soldier as she stood up. "If I were you, I'd find our colors and quickly. We cannot afford to mistake you for one of them."

Djinjer glanced down at her gear, then at the orcs. They both wore dark maroon and brown armor, though the spikes and crude chainmail was no where to be found on her set. Then again, glancing at her stature and a nearby female orc's, she could see just what the female soldier meant. Djinjer snarled and yanked her helmet off, handing it to the human. Understanding her actions, the female soldier gladly handed hers over and thanks to the magically imbued armor, the new, Stormwind affiliated helmet, fit right onto her large, wolf shaped head.

With this new helmet, she didn't dedicate another second to wondering if she looked appropriate for this battle. Instead, she kept her eye out for cannon powder and attacked any orc that got in her way. In fact, she attacked any orc that was close by. With at least ten orcs dead by her own hand and several bundles of cannon powder gathered, Djinjer sought out her Dwarven companion. Hidden behind a large cannon, Djinjer found Flintlocke standing beside an injured human. "Aye, that'll do 'er."

Breathless, Djinjer handed the bags over to the Fargo and immediately, he stuffed some of the powder into his mouth. Djinjer grimaced as he swished it around, then smacked his lips and nodded, as though he were tasting a fine ale. "Ohhh, fresh. Heady. Redridge fine grain with a hint of Westfall sulphur and a mild aftertaste. Highbank gets the good stuff!"

"Did...did I just bring you dinner or a snack, perhaps?"

Fargo Flintlocke chuckled at her question, "No, no, no, lass. Lookie here, Djinjer," he walked over to the large cannon and patted it. "I found the biggest gun in Highbank! We're gonna try a technique handed down ta me by me pappy, from his pappy, from his pappy, shortly before he got blowed up. It's called..." he held his hands out and waved them, "the 'warrior shot.'"

Djinjer blinked at him several times, then noticed that the gun was large enough for _her_ to fit into. Slowly, she glared back at the Dwarf, "You take a soldier and load 'er inta a gigantic cannon, then ya—oh, _relax_! This usually works!"

"You're going to kill me!" she barked out.

"_Relax!_" he shouted back. "This is the only option we've got! Take these explosives, then wait next ta me. As soon as that blimpy comes around, I'll blast you onto tha deck. Plant the explosives in 'er belly and, oh, I dunno...make it up as you go."

"That doesn't sound too safe," the human beside him said.

Djinjer sighed irritably, but decided not to argue as she snatched up the explosives and stormed over to the cannon. "Tell me when to get in," she said with a sigh. "I know I'm going to regret this."

"It'll be fine," Fargo said with a chuckle.

"Why? Why can't I get away from situations like these? I get thrown about by catapults, plane crashes, and now I'm willingly being launched out of a cannon!" Djinjer whimpered, "I must be mental!"

"It's almost here! Get ready!" Fargo called out, rushing to the back end of the cannon. Djinjer grumbled as she carefully began getting into the cannon. "She's here! Get in that cannon, damnit! Get ready to fire!" Djinjer wiggled down into the cannon as best as she could, clenching her eyes shut in an attempt to calm her pounding heart. "Shoot 'er now!" she heard Flintlocke yell.

Djinjer barely had time to process what she was hearing as she was flung out of the cannon with such force that she couldn't even screech. She yelped loudly as she slammed into the purple fabric of the zeppelin. The only thing that kept her from bouncing right off of it was that she immediately sunk her claws into the fabric, shredding it and holding on by two fist fulls. She dug the claws on her toes into the fabric and instead of sliding down the balloon, Djinjer opened her mouth as wide as she could and bit down. The balloon barely budged and so she let out a growl and gnawed on it.

Judging from the scratchy, high pitched shouting below her, a goblin spotted her, but Djinjer wouldn't let that little green booger keep her from her mission. Plant the explosives, she was told, but crashing the zeppelin this way seemed just as efficient! Djinjer glanced at the ropes to her left as she heard them crack and whine. She halted her gnawing only for a moment as she looked over her shoulder and found the Horde goblin climbing the ropes in hopes to dispatch her. Djinjer huffed and sunk her claws and teeth into the large balloon as forcefully as she could. With a small puff of air into her mouth, Djinjer grinned.

It happened all at once.

The small holes she created with her teeth ripped and tore so violently, she was almost flung off of the zeppelin. Thankfully, she thought to grab onto the ropes beside her as the zeppelin emitted a loud, high pitched squeal. The goblin was flung off and so far away from her, that she didn't exactly know where he went or what happened to him. With a yelp, Djinjer slid down the rope and nearly crashed into the wooden ship. The balloon was deflating so quickly and spinning the ship so violently that Djinjer was having a hard time holding onto anything.

Her eyes locked onto a Blood Elf that was hanging onto a bolted down chair. He screeched in sheer terror as the zeppelin was spun in circles before it soared in one direction. His horrified eyes locked onto the small package on her back and that only reminded her that she was carrying explosives, which could be possibly explode if their crash landing didn't go as smoothly as she hoped. Scrambling as quickly as she could, Djinjer removed the explosives, but the zeppelin suddenly smashed into the ground.

One minute she was being deafened by an enemy soldier screaming at the top of his lungs and the next, she was opening her eyes and attempting to clear her vision. Djinjer slowly got to her hands and knees and shook her head. She looked around and found the zeppelin, or what was left of it, and grinned. But where were the explosives?!

She immediately got to her feet and looked around. The explosives were no where to be found, but she did spot the elf. As soon as he noticed her watching him, he froze and removed the daggers from on his hips. With blood dripping down his handsome face and his posture clearly showing how much pain he was in, Djinjer didn't bother. She hesitantly took a step away from the elf and the crash and from the corner of her left eye, she saw the explosives.

Injured or not, the elf raced her to the explosives and to her surprise, he _kicked_ them from her reach. Djinjer snarled as she back handed the elf and once more raced over to the explosives. She yelped as a small dagger cut straight through the tender part of her arm and embedded itself into her arm. With a growl, she yanked it out and scooped up the explosives. Djinjer spun around, intending to threaten him with the explosives—because at this shortened distance, it would take out both of them...but the elf was kneeling and trembling.

Blood was now pooling beneath him and as badly as she wanted to leave him, she couldn't. With an angry sigh, she slipped on the backpack that held the explosives and hurried over to him, knowing she was making a mistake. He immediately glared up at her and held his daggers out at his sides, preparing to attack her. Judging from the amount of blood he was now losing, Djinjer was certain he wouldn't be able to move, but in case he did, Djinjer kept her distance. From the satchel at her hip, Djinjer pulled out heavy embersilk bandages and tossed them at him. "I know you can understand me," she told him, "so if I were you, I would stop worrying about me and bandage yourself up. If you're lucky, you'll survive."

He grunted and with trembling hands, he dropped his weapons and snatched up the health potion soaked bandages. Djinjer watched him for a moment as he struggled to repair his wounds and with an even heavier sigh, she removed the explosives, carefully placed them behind her and hurried over to him. She bandaged him as quickly as she could...but it wasn't enough. The elf felt heavy in her arms and Djinjer immediately knew the bandages just weren't enough. With a heavy sigh, Djinjer scooped him up into her arms and walked him over to the nearest tree. She placed him just beneath it and frowned. "May you find peace," she whispered as she placed his hands over his abdomen.

It was with a heavy heart that she stood up and returned to the explosives. It felt wrong to just leave the elf there, but she knew that someone would discover him and perhaps they would bring him back to their camp for a proper burial. That reminded her... Djinjer looked out at the water, hoping to see some sign of the goblin. If she could find his body, she would place him with his comrade, but even with her enhanced vision, she couldn't spot anything that resembled the goblin. "Sorry," she said out loud. She gave the elf one more look before she started her trek back to Highbank.

Upon arrival, she found that the chaos was immediately dying down. The Horde soldiers were thinning in numbers and those that could flee were dispatched by archers. Djinjer allowed her eyes to scan the archers, hopeful that she'd recognize at least one of them. With a defeated sigh, Djinjer walked through the camp until she found Fargo. Three corpses were at his feet, but the Dwarf looked rejuvenated. When his eyes met hers, he burst into laughter and as she approached him, he wiped tears from his eyes. "Tha...that was so beautiful! Poof!" he whistled as he made a spinning motion with his finger. "See ya still got the s'plosives, too!"

"Here," Djinjer murmured, handing them over. He gladly took the backpack and opened it, checking on what he was now referring to his baby. "Ah well," he said, "yeh got the job done. Can't complain about that! Maybe I'll get to see _you_," he looked at the bag, "in action another time. Anyways!" He looked back up at a Djinjer and said, "Kurdran Wildhammer is up in the top of the keep an' I'm sure he'll be wantin' to gives ya a hero's welcome. Yeh earned it! Go talk to 'im! I'll move on ahead and scout out the beach."

Djinjer's stomach churned as she realized that Fargo would come across the elf's corpse, but she pushed that thought out of her head and made her way inside of the Highbank Keep. The Highbank Keep was filled with activity. People were inspecting fractures in the walls and repairing other damages, while other people tended to the wounded. On the second floor, Djinjer found the person she was looking for. Kurdran Wildhammer was tall for a Dwarf. His armor screamed of importance and though it was impressive, it was hardly what caught her attention. Kurdran's bushy beard and high ponytail could rival the brightness of her original hair color and the balded part of his head was covered in bright blue tattoos.

As his intense eyes spotted her, he bellowed out, "Ah, the wolf girl!" Everyone in the room came to an immediate stop and looked at her. If Djinjer could have blushed in this form, she would have. She ignored the stares and made her way over to the Dwarf. "I heard the King himself sent you. It's good to know that Stormwind is secure," his accent was quite different from Fargo's or any other Dwarf's, yet it was somehow clearer and easier to understand. "I was expecting more in the way of troops, but word is that the Alliance fleet was ambushed by the Horde on the way here. They gave as good as they got, but the fleet is in shambles. If we're to make any forward progress here in the Highlands, we're going to need the help of heroes like you." Djinjer wanted to scoff. By no means did Djinjer feel like she was a hero.

He motioned for her to follow him as he walked up three steps to a table covered in scrolls. Soldiers of the Alliance moved aside for the two of them and without another second, Kurdran Wildhammer began pointing at maps as he told her, "The situation here in the Highlands changes by the minute. Our objective is to storm the Bastion of Twilight, but I can't even secure a landing zone on the shore without the blasted Horde creating trouble. While I scrape together the remains of the fleet, I need men," he cleared his throat, "I need _soldiers_ on the shore securing the beach head." He looked up at Djinjer and told her, "Report to Lieutenant Emry on the shore and help his marines to beat back the Horde!"

"Shouldn't you send more than just _me_?"

Kurdran grinned as several others around them chuckled, "Lass, we're sending all we can." He looked away from her and Djinjer had enough common sense to realize that he was done speaking with her. She slipped out of the noisy crowd around the table and just as she was about to head back down the stairs, someone grabbed a hold of her arm.

Djinjer looked at the grayed man and lifted a wolfish brow, "My name is Simon Chandler. I'm one of the survivors of the fleet. I heard what Kurdran told you to do and I'm not speaking against it."

"But?" she asked, pulling her arm from his.

"There's something else you should know," he said quickly. "The fleet was mostly in tact as it limped into the harbor after our engagement with the Horde. We weighed an anchor in the shadow of the Highbank here to regroup. Then the naga came. You do know what naga are, don't you?"

"I do," Djinjer said with a nod.

Simon shook his head and shuddered, "Scaly, glistening hands clambering up the anchor chains...dragging men, screaming, into the depths." He shuddered again and said, "These are cursed shores, soldier. Cursed."

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Djinjer asked. "There's only one person I'm supposed to be reporting to at the moment and it's not exactly you."

"What's your name?"

Djinjer was hesitant to reply, but if he was standing here, so close to every important official in the Highlands, then he must have been somewhat trustworthy, right? "Djinjer," she told him.

"Listen Djinjer, between the Horde and the naga, our fleet has been decimated and I don't want the same thing to happen to the next fleet." Djinjer silently agreed, considering Zathaniel would be arriving with that fleet. "We can't do anything to bring back the men who gave their lives to the sea, but sink me if I allow all of our supplies to be lost forever. Do me a solid and swim out to the Obsidian Breakers and retrieve our supplies."

"And where can I find the Obsidian Breakers?"

"Just southwest of Highbank, on the ocean floor." Djinjer shifted uncomfortably and Simon could clearly see that she wasn't certain about helping him. "Look, I know Kurdran intends to storm the Twilight Bastion, but I think that the naga are intending to reinforce the Bastion with our supplies. We can't let that happen!"

Djinjer took a step away from him as he reached out to grab her arms. "Alright, alright! I understand. I'll do it. Last thing we need is a stronger enemy." Simon didn't thank her. Instead, he leaned against the wall and sighed loudly, visibly relieved. She wondered, had he been trying to get help and no one wanted to listen to him? It certainly seemed the case, considering how much was going on at the moment. "I won't let you down," she told Simon. Lieutenant Emry would have to wait.


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: **_As promised, here's the next chapter! I apologize for any grammatical mistake I may have made. This chapter did take a bit longer than I expected, but I was working on a fairly big piece of art with Djinjer and Zathaniel! Please enjoy!  
_

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"Djinjer! Djinjer! Wait up!" Djinjer was just about to step out of the keep when she heard Simon Chandler's voice. She sighed heavily and turned around, not surprised to see the grayed man behind her. "I thought you should take someone with you."

Djinjer lifted a brow. She didn't know if she should be insulted or touched. Help was always welcome, but sometimes it was a clear indication that you weren't trusted to do the job. "She'll help," he explained. "Warlocks are very gifted when it comes to breathing underwater."

Djinjer blinked several times before she allowed her eyes to drift down. There, standing beside Simon, was a pink haired gnome. She gave Djinjer a nod and held her hand out, "The name is Twibs. Happy to help."

"Djinjer," she said, kneeling down to shake the Gnome's hand. Djinjer had never worked this closely with a Gnome. Part of her immediately worried about stepping on her new comrade or maybe even tripping over her. The guilt and shame that Djinjer felt must have been apparent, because Twibs withdrew her hand with a sigh and looked up at Simon.

"Don't worry, Simon," she said in her firm, but squeaky voice, "We're going to handle everything from here."

"Are you sure you don't need anymore help?" Simon asked, obviously worried.

"We're fine," Twibs told him, giving him a pat on his leg. "We'll return as soon as we're done. I promise."

"Good, good," Simon murmured, visibly relaxing. He leaned against the door and with that, Djinjer stood up and was surprised to see her comrade push past her. As soon as they were out of Simon's hearing, Twibs spoke up, "Let me guess, you've never worked with a Gnome before?"

"Correct."

Djinjer had opened her mouth to voice her thoughts, but Twibs had turned around and frowned at her. "First of all, don't _ever_ refer to me as your 'little friend.' Secondly, I am not a child and so I shouldn't be treated like one. Yes, I'm small. Yes, my hair is pink. Yes, you might even think I'm adorable, but I can keep up with the rest of you. Got it?" Before Djinjer could even nod, Twibs added, "Oh! And don't think you can ruffle my hair when we do a good job or when I amuse you."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Djinjer murmured softly. Djinjer wondered—

"_And_!" Djinjer's thoughts immediately came to a stop, "Don't feel bad for me if I do get hurt. I'm a grown woman. I may even be older than you."

Djinjer smiled, "I'll do my best not to let you down." Twibs was absolutely right to be so blunt with her.

"This might be your first time working with my kind, but don't forget, it's also my first time working with yours." Twibs crossed her arms and sighed softly. "Now, I'm not saying you're the leader of our group, but since your are my 'shield,' I was wondering what we should do first."

"Um," Djinjer blinked several times and looked around, "Well, there's the sunken ships. I mean, I don't exactly know what we're looking for, but it wouldn't hurt to start in that area."

Twibs gave her a nod of approval, but as Djinjer started to walk away, she shouted, "Wait!" Djinjer turned around, confused by her comrade's sudden outburst. "Here!" Twibs said, pulling a green stone from her pocket. "It'll help if you're injured."

"Thanks," Djinjer said with a grin as she picked up the warm stone. She slipped it into her satchel and asked, "Ready?"

"Not quite," Twibs said with a grin, taking a step back from Djinjer. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A beautiful purple ring of light lit up beneath her while purple streams of magic swirled around her. Djinjer expected to hear some sort of beautiful incantation, but instead, Twibs called out, "Thag'luk, get your butt out here!"

Djinjer lifted her brows as a grinning imp suddenly appeared before her. He winked at her and made a clicking sound with his mouth. "Stop it, you!" Twibs said, giving him a good smack. "We have work to do."

The imp sighed irritably, but didn't protest. After a moment of watching the imp faithfully follow his master, Djinjer joined the line. The three of them made their way back to the ship she had crashed landed upon. "There's the wreckage," Djinjer murmured to herself. "It'll be a bit of a swim."

"We can handle that," Twibs murmured, slipping down to the water's edge. "Here, before I forget," she flicked her hand out toward Djinjer and almost instantly, Djinjer began coughing. "Just breathe. The discomfort will go away the sooner you relax." But it was almost impossible! It felt like a bubble had formed at the back of her throat, clogging both her nasal passages and her throat! Though she wanted to grab her throat and wheeze until she got a proper breath, Djinjer didn't want to look stupid in front of her cranky partner.

So she snapped her mouth shut and did her best to get deep breaths. As Twibs started to float, she turned onto her back and grinned at Djinjer. "When you're able to, dunk your head under the water and _start breathing_. You'll feel more comfortable after that. We have ten minutes before the spell runs out. Don't worry," she winked as her imp latched onto the crown of her head, "I won't let you drown."

Djinjer wished that had made her feel better, but it didn't. As soon as she was able to, Djinjer lowered herself into the water and began swimming beside Twibs. Twibs gave her a look as she came to a stop and Djinjer knew what was going to come next, so she took one last shallow breath and dove beneath the water. Just as Twibs had said, the comfort that came to Djinjer was instant. It was as though she was breathing normally above water. Twibs pointed out to the three ships. "Look at that," she said, her voice muffled by the water.

Two of the sunken ships sat in front of them while only the mass of the third ship could be seen off the side of the underwater cliff. Dark, smokey liquid rose from the nearest ship while the other was being raided by Naga. Twibs waved her over as she swam to the base of the nearest ship. "You take care of the cargo," she told her, bubbles rushing out of her mouth. "Look for the orange tab!"

"What will you do?" Djinjer shouted back, tickled to see a flurry of bubbles rush out of her wolfish mouth.

Twibs didn't reply verbally. She wiggled her fingers, then smashed her hand into her other palm, only to end with pointing at the naga. Djinjer nodded and pushed off of the ocean floor. If asked, she had to admit that swimming out into the open, knowing the naga could see her, was unnerving. She made it to the first box of cargo and glanced around her before flipping the box over. The naga seemed ready to pounce, but stayed where they were out of curiosity. On the bottom of the crate was a thick orange tab, one that she pulled and was grateful to see in action. There was a small explosion and the lid of the crate burst off with such force that it sent the crate up at least two feet. From there, a floatation device sprang forth, sending the crate to the surface of the water.

The naga seemed impressed and wary, which meant one thing: she and Twibs had to be much faster about this. As if sensing her sudden anxiety, one naga hissed and began casting at her while a male naga began swimming for the crate. Djinjer growled as she forced herself to intercept the male naga, which was by no means easy. She knew she had spent too much energy to catch him, but she refused to let him pop the floatation device! Fighting under water was by no means easy. Each swing of her sword took more effort than before and while she kept her target occupied, Twibs and her demonic companion were impressively taking out enemies, one by one.

"Djinjer!" Twibs voice sounded so distant and muffled thanks to the water, but with a glance over her shoulder, Djinjer knew what was coming next. With all of her might, as fast as she could, Djinjer "flung" herself out of her target's way. Just as she suspected, he turned to face her when a shadowy orb slammed into him. The look of shock and pain that filled his face surprised Djinjer only because she didn't know that naga could be so expressive. One after another, naga continuously attacked them while trying to move the crates away.

Both Djinjer and Twibs hurried to interrupt the thieving naga and more than once, both were able to successfully pull the chord on the boxes, seriously injuring the naga carrying them. It didn't take long for the naga to figure out that Djinjer, nor Twibs, were going anywhere any time soon and that personally made Djinjer feel better about their tasks at hand. When they had recovered as many cargo boxes as they possibly could, Djinjer and Twibs surfaced and gathered up the boxes that were floating around. "Take a deep breath," Twibs told her. Djinjer mimicked Twibs and took a sharp, but deep breath. The bubble that seemed lodged in her throat and nasal passages instantly popped and Djinjer never felt more relief. She let out a long groan, which made Twibs laugh. "You handled that better than I thought you would," she said, seemingly more cheerful than earlier.

"We need to figure out a way to get all of these boxes back to Simon," Djinjer murmured, looking over their success. She counted at _least_ twenty-five boxes!

"Here," Twibs swam over to her and grabbed two of the ropes wrapped around the boxes. She pulled a hook from her bag and attached the two boxes together. "These hooks are cheap, so I don't mind wasting them. And," she perked up, "since you're the muscle of this operation, I think _you_ should pull the boxes. I'll climb on top and keep and eye on this train of ours."

"Oh," Djinjer grinned. "I see. Well then, since these hooks are yours, I'll let you finish up and I'll be waiting up ahead."

Twibs shot her a glare, but Djinjer didn't mind. Even if the boxes were floating on water, it wasn't going to be all that easy to pull them. Several moments later and the box train was ready to go. Twibs climbed on top of the middle box with her imp companion beside her. She let out a sharp whistle which was Djinjer's queue to start swimming. Just as she thought, there was barely any movement, despite how hard she was paddling.

Djinjer was reminded of her first day working on her father's farm. Her father's horses had been stolen and so every farmhand had to push a plow in order to get the fields ready. She was so small that it took her twice as long as anyone else. Even though other farmhands offered to do the work for her, Djinjer refused. _She_ wanted to do it. "Progress is progress, no matter how small it is," he had told her. That couldn't be anymore true. Sure, it took them five or minutes to get out here and sure, it took them twenty or thirty minutes to get back, but they got back and they had the cargo with them.

Djinjer trudged out of the water panting and hunched over. She detached herself from the make shift pulley and fell face forward onto the sandy ground. "I guess that means you want me to go find Simon Chandler?"

"There's no need!" Djinjer turned her face and panted heavily as Simon Chandler ran over to the two of them.

"We've been watching you two for quite some time now," a nearby guard said, sounding entirely amused.

"Why didn't you send help?!" Djinjer whined out breathlessly.

"Look at all of this! You were able to recover more than I thought! Quickly, let's start bringing in those boxes! We can outfit a whole squad of marines with this stuff!" Simon then sighed heavily. "We have the gear. If we only had some way to bolster our numbers here in the Highlands..."

Djinjer lifted a tired arm and held a finger up. "Reinforcements are on their way. They were just preparing to leave when I was convinced to come here by rickety old plane."

"Reinforcements?! That's amazing! Let's see the Horde compete with that!" Simon Chandler laughed happily as he and a guard began dragging a box onshore.

"So," Twibs nudged her with her foot, "what's next on your list of tasks?"

"I need to find Lieutenant Emry," she murmured, slowly getting to her hands and knees. "Why? What are you doing?"

She shrugged. "I may or may not have any quests at the moment."

"Why?" Djinjer asked, groaning loudly as she got to her feet. "It seems like this place could use every available soldier."

Twibs shrugged. "Maybe I'm too small or maybe I have a terrible attitude." She shrugged again and said, "Lieutenant Emry, you said?" Djinjer nodded at her as she began removing her gear, pouring out the water that had seeped inside. "Well, don't dry off too soon. He's on the mainland and our bridge was taken down."

In mid removal of her boot, Djinjer sighed loudly and yanked it back on. "I take it you know where he is?" Twibs smiled and gave her a nod, "Just lead the way already."


	9. Chapter 9

**Note:** _Sorry that this took so long after I promised faster updates. I suffered a really bad hand injury that almost required major surgery and I've only just started to get mobility back in my fingers. I'll have some pretty gnarly scars from the incident, but at least I haven't lost any digits! On top of that, I also injured my primary arm and I am currently undergoing physical therapy to remedy the situation. Send some HoTs my way, please._

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As a Worgen, it was hard to feel inconspicuous compared to her Gnome companion. The two of them dashed between damaged siege tanks, hiding from Goblins in Horde Shredders and random Horde soldiers. There was only one enemy they had ran into so far and he was quickly dispatched...it also helped that he had his back to them. It also _really_ helped that Twibs was an amazing partner. Sure, she a bit rough around the edges and she may have been snappy at times, but Twibs was amazingly talented and had great control over her magic and demonic servant.

After their last tasks together, they were given two missions: 1) Bring extra parts to the Siege Tank Commander and 2) Find a fallen gryphon that had been spotted in this same area. Naturally being taller, it was Djinjer's job to keep an eye out for the gryphon that did not belong to the Alliance. Once again, Djinjer peeked out from behind the overturned siege tank and looked around. The gryphon was no where in sight, but she _did_ spot the Siege Tank Commander! Armed soldiers stood around the siege tank while their commander was standing ontop of their damaged tank. He barked out orders and quickly pointed out enemies that were headed in their direction.

Djinjer quickly returned to her previous position, with her back against the overturned tank. She gave Twibs a smile and said, "I found the commander!"

Twibs gave her a playful frown, "That was my job!"

"Well, now _you_ can be the look out for the gryphon!" Djinjer and Twibs hurried over to the smoking tank.

"We're here to help!" Twibs called out, reaching the tank first.

"I'm afraid there's nothing you can do!" the Dwarven Commander told them. "She's hung up in the debris and I've lost steam pressure. The more we tried to get her to move, the more she broke down! This terrain is murder!"

Twibs immediately started snapping her fingers at Djinjer. "We've got spare parts!"

The commander only looked relieved for a second, "We're already vulnerable as it is! There's no way the stinkin' Horde is going to let us repair this girl and there's nothing saying we can move this girl even if we did repair her!"

"I'll cover you," Twibs told him, making Djinjer feel a little forgotten. "And once you get this machine up and running, my partner will help you move it."

Several of the Dwarves looked at her and blinked. She blinked back and let out a nervous chuckle, "I'm strong," she told them, "but I don't know if I'm push-a-siege-engine strong."

"Don't worry," Twibs shot her a glare before turning her gaze back on the commander. "We're here to help and help is what we'll do."

Djinjer hesitantly removed the heavy bag from her shoulders and tossed it up to the commander. How pleased he seemed when he pulled out two gadgets that didn't exactly look important. "C'mon, men! Leave these two to guard us while we work! We've trained for this sort of situation, so don't let me down!"

Twibs gave the commander a salute, then turned to Djinjer and said, "I'll take this side if you want to get the other."

"Aye, aye, cap'n!" Djinjer saluted Twibs with a grin and hurried to the other side of the siege engine. She hardly had time to get comfortable before an orc charged her! Instantly irritated and caught off guard, Djinjer was disarmed, but while the orc was taking pride in his initial attack, he didn't realize that Djinjer wasn't any ordinary human. With a growl, Djinjer shifted into her worgen form and sliced at his neck and face with her claws. He howled in pain, which gave Djinjer enough time to snatch up her sword and shoved it through his neck. The nearest Dwarf cheered and returned his focus to the tank as Djinjer kicked the orc's body, dislodging him from her sword.

During the half hour that passed, Djinjer and Twibs took down several enemy soldiers and each time, they were reassured that the work on the tank was, "almost done." While that should have made Djinjer feel better, it didn't and that's because she knew couldn't move that tank. There was simply _no _way she was strong enough to do something like that! "Finished!" The commander called out. "We've got to get her moving and fast!"

"Djinjer!" Twibs squeaked out from the other side of the tank. "I've got some help for you!"

As soon as she came around to the back of the siege engine, Djinjer was surprised to see a towering, hulk of a demon standing beside the Gnome. "Lovely," Djinjer murmured, placing her hands against the tank. "Ready when you are!" Djinjer barked out. She and the demon were engulfed in steam as the tank roared to life.

"Push!" she heard the commander shout. Both she and the demon shoved against the tank with all of their might and to her surprise, it actually moved—but not by much.

"We need more strength!" Djinjer called back, but as soon as she said it, Djinjer and the demon were joined by several more Dwarves!" With determination, the group pushed and the tank groaned, but after a moment, it sprung free with a touch of speed. It circled around and the commander jumped down from the top of it.

"You lot protect us while we fix the rest of tanks!" he called to his confused crew. "Take down any damn shredder you see and one you," he directed to the soldiers around her, "join my sharpshooter and take down any Horde scum you see! Someone else direct us to the nearest repairable tank!"

"Follow me!" Another Dwarf called.

"As for you two," he nodded, and the two of them knew just what that meant.

Djinjer watched them as they swarmed another siege engine. Just as she was going to ask Twibs if they should continue helping, she heard a soft cry. "Did you hear that?" Djinjer asked, perking her ears up.

"No," Twibs said irritably. "I was considering lending them my aid until each tank was repaired, but then I remember we have another task."

"Shh!" Djinjer strained her ears and eyes. She could hear plenty of things, but nothing that sounded like a gryphon. Without blinking, Djinjer looked around them and just as she was about to shrug it all off, she saw a touch of white and gold hidden beneath leaves and branches. "There," Djinjer said softly.

"I see it!" Twibs said as she dismissed her demon and took off at a jog.

Djinjer sped ahead of her companion and just as she thought, the gryphon was mostly hidden while the rider sat beside her, attempting to tend to her wounds. The painted Dwarf glanced up at her and snapped his eyes shut, sighing loudly as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Aw dang crap it all! You're just Alliance minions," he sighed again, "I was hoping for a rescue."

Twibs instantly seemed offended and infuriated, so much so that she couldn't bring herself to speak. Djinjer cleared her throat and knelt down beside him. "We were told to locate you and your gryphon and do anything to help."

With a third sigh, he looked over the gryphon and nodded. "Look here, mate. She's on her last legs! If me bird dies, I'm as good as worthless! You say you were sent to help? Alright. Then help me. Here on the peninsula, you can dig up thorny stankroots. Oh, the smell will knock you on your patoot, but steeped in water, it'll boil up into a right powerful cure-all. You two gather those up for me while I tend to me bird. An' hurry up! You Alliance wanks don't have a reputation for timely intervention, right?"

Twibs took a deep breath and opened her mouth, but with a quick (and possibly too hard) smack from Djinjer, she shut her mouth and spun around, storming out into the field. Djinjer followed him, keeping her eyes on the ground for the roots. The thorny stankroots weren't exactly hard to find. Sitting at the base of boulders, they were the only thorny roots around. She wondered if they smelled as bad as the Dwarf claimed, but as soon as Djinjer yanked it up from the ground, she instantly dropped it and yelped loudly. She clamped her hands over her snout and trembling, she returned to her human body. Twibs glared at her, "I guess with enhanced hearing, you also have enhanced smelling?" Djinjer shook her head. "That root is downright foul to me, so I can only imagine what that did to your nose. Is it ruined?"

"I don't know," Djinjer murmured, groaning as she scooped up the root and slipped it into the pack at her hip. "Let's just be quick about this."

"Tch, fine by me," Twibs said, walking over to the other side of the boulder. She yanked a root up and said, "Can you believe him? Could he be any ruder? So what if we're Alliance?! I'm pretty sure any enemy would have gladly offed him _and _his bird!"

"He's probably just uptight because he's worried about her. Wouldn't you be worried about your mount?" Twibs tossed her the root and together, they walked over to another boulder. "Yes...but I wouldn't be rude to anyone that was willing to help me."

Djinjer scoffed, but continued to catch and bag the roots, even when Twibs started squeezing them to make them stink a little more. "I think this is enough," Djinjer told her as she tossed another root. "Look, if you don't want to deal with him, you can go join them," Djinjer nodded, then sucked in a quick breath of air. "They have three up and running already."

Twibs glanced over her shoulders at the siege engines and sighed. "It's fine," she said softly. "I'll just keep my trap shut."

"That's what I was going to suggest," Djinjer said with a grin. Twibs gave her a disheartened grin and slowly followed her back to the Dwarf and gryphon. In the few minutes that they were gone, the Dwarf had somehow pulled a pot out of thin air, filled it with water, and got it boiling without a fire.

"I can smell 'em on ya," the Dwarf seemed pleased as he held his hands out to them. "Hand 'em over. And don't get no funny ideas. If you eat 'em, you'll the cramps something awful...but it does wonders for birds." Djinjer quickly handed over the stankroots and was instantly pleased when their stench dulled down after being placed in the hot water. This gave her time to look over the injured and exhausted gryphon. The beautiful beast took shallow breaths and only opened its eyes once. "Don't you mind 'em," he said to the bird. "They're here to help."

"How long until it's ready?" Twibs asked in a much softer voice.

He gave the contents of the pot a swirl and began blowing on it. "Won't be long. Once it's cool, it's ready."

The three of them sat together, hidden from the eyes of the enemy by branches and debris. As they waited for the concoction to cool, they didn't speak. Their eyes were on the bird and as tough as Twibs wanted to be, she looked the most concerned out of the three of them. When the liquid had cooled, he scooped out the boiled roots and carefully poured the potion down his birds throat. "Good girl," he cooed as she gladly accepted the aid. "I think she's perkin' up already!"

Twibs and Djinjer smiled and again, the three fell into silence as they waited for her recovery. When the bird stood up and shook herself free of the camouflage, her rider gave a shout of joy! "Well, Miss Fancy-pants-Alliance-soldiers. Is that your base I see on the shore?"

"Yes, that's Highbank," Twibs murmured.

"Hm...'Highbank,' you say. Can me and my bird hunker down there until she's better?"

Twibs gave her a quizzical look and Djinjer shrugged. "I don't see what the problem would be with that."

"Good," he looked them over for a moment, then nodded. "Right, well, I saw that bag of yours. It's enchanted, isn't it?" Djinjer nodded, "Just as I thought. She can carry the three of us if you put that bag to use."

Twibs flushed red. "I am _**not**_ getting in an enchanted bag!"

"Calm your buns," he chuckled. "You're fine, but _she_," he nodded at Djinjer, "is just a tad on the heavy side with that plate armor of hers."


	10. Chapter 10

**Note:**_ This chapter might not be all that long or what you're expecting, but it was necessary to introduce a new character :) Enjoy! If you do have questions or you'd like, you can find me over on tumblr now at .com  
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Flying was something that Djinjer both loved and loathed. There was nothing more serene than being able to see the entire world beneath and around you while feeling the wind blow through your hair or fur. Crash landing, unfortunately, seemed to be a common occurrence in Djinjer's life and that was _never_ enjoyable. In fact, considering how many times she almost lost her life, Djinjer sort of loathed flying more than she loved it. Yep. Decision made. She didn't like flying. To hell with the beauty of it. To hell with the wonderful, skin tickling breeze! To hell with this gryphon holding onto her with a death grip that was gentle enough to _not_ break her skin!

Djinjer sighed and fought the urge to shift within the beast's clutch. This beautiful creature wasn't feeling so hot and now she was carrying three passengers instead of one. It was decided—without Djinjer's consent—that the only way she could catch a ride with them back to Highbank was to remove her armor. At first, she refused and decided to make her way back to Highbank on foot, but two explosions later and a near death experience with a tank and Djinjer had made her way back to her Gnome and Dwarf companions.

"Okay," she told them, "I'll remove my armor, but wouldn't it be easier for your bird if _you_ also removed your armor?"

Oh, the Dwarf didn't seem happy about that. In the end, he did what was best for his gryphon. Twibs was lucky. Cloth wasn't exactly heavy, thus she didn't have to remove her gear. Between Djinjer and Twibs, the two of them were carrying the armor for both Djinjer and the Dwarf in their magical bags, which made the heavy armor damn near weightless. So there they were in their under armor flying back to Highbank. ...At least it was their under armor and not their underwear. She tensed up as they flew over a group of fighting Horde and Alliance. Some actually stopped to watch her fly over head while a few even whistled. With another sigh, Djinjer muttered, "We should just send our women out to the field naked...then the enemy could be stunned long enough for other females to attack and defeat the stunned males. Hm...maybe we women should team up with the female Horde soldiers and do some real damage."

"What are you yapping about down there?" Twibs called out.

"Nothing," Djinjer snapped back. "Nothing at all!" She lowered her voice, "Just planning world domination."

"Will you shut yer yap!?" the Dwarf called out. "Yer stressin' out mah Beaky!"

Djinjer didn't respond. She didn't feel there was a point considering they were about to land. When the gryphon neared the ground, Djinjer shifted and the great bird understood the gesture, releasing her from its grip. Djinjer had thought she would have landed gracefully on her feet, but instead, she landed on her bottom with a loud grunt. The bird landed beside her and her two riders hopped off of her. "Poor girl," the Dwarf murmured. "Carried us without a complaint and this one can't even say thanks."

"Thanks," Djinjer snapped out as she removed the pieces of gear that belonged to the dwarf. "And here's your damn gear!"

"Me helmet!" he shouted as it went bouncing across the dirt road.

Twibs grinned as she slipped off of the gryphon's back and watched the dwarf gather his gear. "See something you like?" Djinjer asked softly, wiggling her right eyebrow.

The gnome glared up at her as the smile disappeared from her face. "I'll go update our status. Try not to get lost in our base. I don't want to hunt you down if we get another quest."

Djinjer mocked the gnome as slipped on her armored leggings. "Bunch of wanks," she muttered, slipping on her boots.

"I'd recognize that accent anywhere!" Djinjer lurched upward as the stranger with the Gilnean accent smacked her scarred shoulder. "Emberstone Village. Where were you?" The older woman with shoulder length blonde hair smiled and kept her gloved hand on Djinjer's bare shoulder.

"Duskhaven," Djinjer replied, confused as to why she felt so irritated with this fellow Gilnean.

"Got the bite?"

"Of course," Djinjer snapped out, yanking her shoulder away from the woman's grasp. "Excuse me, but I _am_ busy."

The burly woman chuckled, "Just like you farming lot to be sensitive over nothing." Of course Djinjer wanted to correct the woman, but people from Emberstone had this way of irritating everyone. Just because most of their men _and_ women worked in the mines, they thought they were somehow tougher than the rest of Gilneas. There was just no point in arguing with them. So Djinjer did nothing but sigh and continue to gear up. The woman let out a low whistle, "That's some nice gear you have. It's much better than this," she flicked her chest piece and said, "Got this off of an orc lady."

"Good for you," Djinjer murmured, giving her a quick once over. Great. This woman was obviously a warrior as well and being almost twice the muscle of Djinjer, which she was sure to bring that up next.

"Yeh, it was," she said in that Emberstone accent. She looked up at Djinjer and continued to smile as she held her hand out. "By the by, Maureen, but everyone calls me Maury." Well, at least she didn't bring up Djinjer's size.

"Djinjer," she shook the woman's hand and fastened her left bracer on.

"Ginger? _Oh! Because of your hair!_"

Djinjer sighed and picked up her adventurer's pack. She gave a half-hearted wave to the woman and began walking off.

"Don't mind if I do," Maury called out, walking beside her. "This is awfully exciting. I don't see many of our kind around and I always thought that was _so_ weird. I mean, back when the invasion was happening, it's like there were more worgen than there were blades of grass. Perhaps it's because most of us walk around in our old bodies. Yeh. I reckon that's why. Seems it makes the other folk more comfortable. Yeh. I reckon that's why. I mean, I wouldn't want to see a big hulking wolf creature walking down the street while I'm trying to buy me mam some groceries. Innit funny how we want our shopping to be a pleasant experience? I mean, if we saw a big hulking creature coming toward us we would definitely get up." She sucked in the air between her teeth and shook her head. "No. We don't want any of that."

Djinjer came to a stop and so did the woman. "Why...are you following me?"

The woman stared at her with her brown eyes and then they slowly widened. "You mean," she mimicked the hand motion Djinjer gave her several times, then looked back at her, "I thought that meant come along but now I see it wasn't." She put her hands out and shook them. "So sorry. So sorry." She backed away, laughing nervously, but it was obvious Djinjer had made this fellow Gilnean feel bad...which made Djinjer feel bad. "Just thought you wanted me to tag along."

"Sorry," Djinjer said, catching Maury's attention. "Have you really not seen _any_ of our kind?"

"No," she replied softly.

"Since when?"

"Since we landed at that Night Elf place. Awfully beautiful that was, but I like my city to be a bit more closed in and less naturey." She nodded and shrugged. "Haven't really seen anyone since!" Djinjer opened her mouth to ask another question, but Maury continued, "I mean, I've _seen_ some others but I haven't actually talked to anyone. Then again, I'm not all that good at conversing. I think that's why I worked the mines. You didn't really have to talk to anyone as long as you knew what you were doing. Then again, I didn't actually work the mines. I ran the cart that moved our minerals to and fro. Y'know how that goes." She shrugged. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. Really. I just thought I'd pop in and say hello, maybe have a lunch together."

Djinjer stared at the woman. She looked...lonely. "How did you get out here, Maury?"

"Oh. That. Yes. Well, you see, I've been doing tasks since we got out of Gilneas, really. One lead to another and it's a lot like the work in the mines. As long as you do what you're told, you're given more work and long story short, here I am. Then again, they told me I could have gone to this place called Uldum, but I don't do well with the heat. Which is why I didn't actually work in the mines 'cause it gets quite hot in there. Yeh. But yeh, I've been alone since the Night Elf capital. Actually, I've been alone since before that. I didn't exactly have family in Gilneas. Me mam and dad got sick that bad winter a few years back." She clasped her hands together and looked out into the distance.

Djinjer's annoyance with the woman suddenly vanished. "I thought you said you get groceries for your mother."

She looked back at Djinjer and gave her a sad smile, "No. I just meant that in a story manner. That's all."

"Look, I can't promise that we'll get the same quests in the same area, but you can tag along. I'm sure having two warriors work together won't be an awful thing. Also, I kind of have a questing partner. At least, we've been thrown together since I got her."

"I saw," she made a gesture with her hands, as if to show she had something small between them. She then looked around nervously and said, "I'm always so terrified I'll squash one of them. I'm not exactly a small or graceful person."

Djinjer slapped her hand against her own forehead. "You can't say that," she muttered with her eyes shut. "Please, just don't say stuff like that...especially when we work so closely with smaller individuals."

"Right. Yeh. I reckon that's something I should work on." Maury took a deep breath and smiled at her. "So...off we go?"

Djinjer took a deep breath and looked at her new...friend? "Off we go."


	11. Chapter 11

**Note:** _I followed a guide for the quests mentioned in this chapter, so I hope they're accurate :P As always, I'm sorry if there's any spelling errors or anything of that sort! I hope you enjoy the chapter!  
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In the time it took Djinjer's warlock companion to return to her side, Djinjer had learned all about Maury over lunch. Maury, standing an inch or two shorter than Zathaniel, had been training in the ways of a warrior long before the worgen became a threat. That—Djinjer came to realize—is why they didn't know each other. She was higher ranked in the Gilnean Military and wasn't even in the city when the attacks happened. Maury was also on the first ship out of Gilneas and was settled before the ship Djinjer was on could even dock. "Funny, innit," Maury kept saying, "all this time, we could have been good friends but we kept missing each other!"

Despite her initial annoyance with Maury, Djinjer began liking this goofy, muscle-bound woman. They talked about their childhood, their work in Gilneas, what their experience was during the invasion of their beloved home, and how they lived their lives afterward. Maury didn't have a home to return to. She didn't have friends she could bunker up with and she lived on every piece of gold she made, so she couldn't afford to stay in taverns for long. All of this boiled down to her adventures, which she had plenty of stories about.

"I think those big talking trees are the most bizarre thing I've truly come across, or those hulking moss creatures. Since I've met those, I never really feel like I'm alone. Eventually, you learn you don't really have any privacy, what with flowers springing to life beneath your bottom and trees walking around, conversing like that's normal. That's what I miss the most," Maury sighed and nodded, "our _normal _world."

It was as Maury said this that Twibs approached them. She looked at Djinjer, looked at Maury, then back at Djinjer. "What's this?" she pointed at Maury.

In that awkward, goofy way, Maury sat straight, smiled, and waved at Twibs. Djinjer almost grinned, "Just another Gilnean," she told Twibs.

"Great. So you're bringing home strays."

"Oh," Maury's brows came together. "You two live here?"

"No," both Twibs and Djinjer answered together.

Twibs sighed loudly and murmured, "Couldn't you at least have found a smart stray to bring home?"

Djinjer popped the remaining piece of bread from her lunch into her mouth and tucked it into her cheek, "You don't have to stick around if we bother you."

The warlock grimaced. "At least chew with your mouth shut," which prompted Djinjer to chew with her mouth open as wide as possible. "Child," Twibs whispered to herself. "Look, we have more quests. I wrote all of them down then I had a bit of lunch...so are you sticking with this buffoon or are you coming with me?"

"That's not very nice," Maury murmured. "Y'know, I've never run into one of you lot that _was_ nice."

Djinjer rolled her eyes. "With another warrior around, you'll be able to do twice as much damage, Twibs. It'll be great." Maury clapped her gloved hands together. "So where are we going and what are we supposed to do?"

Twibs looked over Maury and gave another sigh. She swung her backpack around and from it, she pulled out a scroll with writing. "We're going northwest to Firebeard's patrol. Thordun was heading there when his bird was shot down."

"Thordun, eh? So that's the dwarf's name?" Djinjer winked at Twibs and instantly, the gnome blushed.

Twibs cleared her throat and continued explaining their mission, "Twilight's Hammer launched surprise attacks all over the Highlands. According to Thordun, it's chaos out there and their leader, Keegan Firebeard, is trying to put together a full gryphon wing from the survivors."

"A full gryphon wing," Maury said in a soft tone. "That sounds awfully exciting!"

Twibs shot Maury a glare and said, "Kurdan Wildhammer is trying to get the entire Wildhammer Clan into the Alliance and according to _Thordun_, we can start that process by helping out Firebeard." She shot her thumb out to the west.

"Well then!" Maury stood up and dusted herself off. "We should probably get a move on before it gets dark. This place is hell to navigate in the darkness."

"Holy..." Twibs took several steps back. "What the hell are you? A direct descendant of a vyrkul?!"

"_Twibs!_" Djinjer hissed as she stood up.

Maury's face remained cheerful as she looked down at Twibs. "You can call me stupid, ugly, and make fun of my size all you want. At the end of the day, I'll go to bed being proud of who I am and you'll remain a jerk that's mad at the world." She gave a soft laugh and shook herself into her worgen form, growing several inches taller, "Annoy me too much and I might just have a snack." Maury slowly licked her teeth and chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah," Twibs took a deep breath and turned her back to them, summoning her imp.

Djinjer also shook herself into her worgen form, which seemed to surprise Maury. "Look at you!" Maury's voice didn't actually change all that much in her worgen form, which...was more humorous than it should have been. "Even your fur has strands of red! You were definitely named well!"

Djinjer shook her head, "Let's just get a move on."

"Right. Well, what do we do about our friend here?" Maury held her hand out to Twibs, which in comparison looked enormous next to the gnome's head.

"I _do_ have a mount," Twibs murmured, as if seeming ashamed that they were making travel arrangements for her.

"I guess that works out," Maury murmured as she lowered herself to all fours. "It's too bad neither one of us has a saddle; we wouldn't have to worry about you falling behind or if that mount of yours can handle the land _and_ the water."

Twibs shot a glare at the two of them and announced, "I can keep up. Don't worry about me. My size has _never_ been an issue!"

"Maybe you should hop on my back while we swim to the shore," Djinjer said softly, lowering herself to all fours. "I _know_ you can keep up, Twibs."

Despite her defiance stance, Twibs agreed with Djinjer's method. The two worgen swam to the shore, waited for Twibs to summon her mount, and without another word, the three of them made their way to Firebeard's patrol. Like she said, Twibs had no problems keeping up with the two of them. The only issue was that Maury was _surprisingly_ fast. Realizing that not even Djinjer could keep up with her, she slowed down and ran with her new companions instead of leading them.

The stench of burning wood smelled the same no matter where she was in the world. It always brought a touch of fear to the back of her mind and made her skin crawl. What would they find at Firebeard's Patrol? Were they too late? What if they got in the way or what if they weren't enough to stand against whatever foe they were soon to face? Djinjer couldn't help but feel a little shaken, though she'd never admit it. It wasn't long before they could see the fires of the dwarven town and with Twibs following right beside her, the three sped up to reach the town.

"That's gotta be him!" Twibs shouted, pointing at the dwarf in shining armor.

"Keegan Firebeard!" Twibs shouted, speeding her mount up. "Keegan Firebeard!"

The dwarven leader turned to face them, took a glance around, and ran out to them. "Tell me you lot have come to join the patrol!"

"Yes!" Maury said as she and Djinjer stood up. Keegan gave them a once over, grinned, and immediately turned back to his town.

He motioned for them to follow him and over his shoulder, he shouted instructions, "This is the only homes we have! These mongrels may burn them, pillage them, and spit on the remains, but we'll still fight to take them back! The fires have got to be put out before anymore damage is done and more importantly, those blasted elementals have got to go! Even when we put out the fires, they come right back and start them up again. Do what you can! Any bit helps!"

The three female comrades gave each other a nod and split up, heading in their own directions. Maury came to a stop at the town's well while Djinjer and Twibs made their way deeper into the town. At some point, Djinjer lost sight of Twibs, but she knew the warlock could take care of herself. Djinjer charged the first elemental she saw, which looked _nothing_ like the elementals she was used to seeing. Its body was still composed of rocks, but instead of rumbling around on the earth, these elementals seemed to _float_ above it. It swiped and clawed at her with three fiery digits, but it moved slow in comparison to Djinjer. She moved around the creature quickly, slashing at what she hoped were weak spots: the neck and the protected ribcage. Dwarves around her gave her a little cheer as the elemental quivered and dispersed into rubble.

"That wasn't too bad," she murmured as she checked out her gear. She would have to be careful. The hits that did land left grooves and scorch marks upon her plate gear.

Keeping her safety in mind, Djinjer moved on to the next elemental, which was previously engaged with an exhausted dwarf. With her focus lying solely on the elemental threat, Djinjer didn't have time to check in on Twibs or even look around to see what Maury was up to. She helped to destroy the enemies in this section and once they were gone, she moved onto the next where she was reunited with Twibs. Before entering combat, Djinjer was allowed a moment to watch the gnome in combat. She was powerful and thanks to the protection of her void walker, she didn't have to worry about the elementals' dangerous claws. "Need help?" Djinjer asked from behind her.

"No!" Twibs said with joy in her voice. "Help get these fires out! They're spreading faster than you'd think they would!"

So Djinjer sped off back to the center of town. It was there that she found Maury again. Her fellow Gilnean grabbed up several buckets of water at a time and moved with enough grace that the buckets hardly spilled. She'd set them down and empty their contents as accurately as possible. Djinjer didn't wait to ask if she needed help. She gathered up several buckets herself and joined Maury in putting out the fires. "Don't worry about runnin' back!" a dwarf called. "We'll get to work on refilling these buckets for you!"

With their buckets being replaced as fast as they were being emptied, Djinjer and Maury managed to extinguish the fires of the very portion of town that Djinjer had cleared of elementals. They quickly moved over to the section that Twibs was fighting in and found the gnome extinguishing the flames there. With their teamwork, Firebeard's Patrol was deemed as safe as it could be for what they hoped was a while. As many of the dwarves cheered, others took a much needed break and their fearless leader waved them down.

All three soldiers made their way back to him and with a sincere look of appreciation, Keegan said, "Thanks for your help. Every little bit makes a difference."

"We're glad to be of service," Twibs said in a firm tone.

Keegan nodded and looked around at his town. He shook his head with sadness and looked up at them, "Iain, my second in command, bore the body of one of our fallen heroes to the cathedral to the west. He's the man I've put in charge of reforming a wing of gryphon riders from whatever scattered forces he can find. I would like you three to help him. I should impress upon you the urgency of this task. We will not be able to hold here forever; the Twilight's Hammer or the Dragonmaw Orcs will eventually overwhelm us. Putting together an active gryphon wing may be our only hope for surviving these conflicts."

Djinjer looked around at the dwarves of the town. Most appeared disheveled, exhausted, some looked hopeless. "We'll try to be fast," Djinjer told him as she began walking away. Twibs and Maury followed her closely and the three of them made their way out west.

Just outside of the town, the land was broken and revealed tainted under earth. As they ran along the road, Djinjer wondered if the land could recovered from whatever had happened here. It didn't take them long to reach the cemetery and just as she suspected, Iain was the only dwarf in sight. She and Maury stood on their hind legs and carefully approached the cemetery. "Maybe you should go ahead of us," Djinjer whispered to Twibs.

The gnome nodded, clearly understanding what Djinjer meant. What if Iain had never seen their kind? What if assumed they were enemies and refused to help them? Surely he had seen a gnome before. As Twibs approached him, Iain stood up. "Greetings, gnome. Sent by Keegan?"

"Yes," Twibs answered with a nod. "You'll be pleased to know that there is now a lull in the attacks on the town and as you can see," she held her hand out in the direction of Firebeard's Patrol, "the fires have been temporarily extinguished. Keegan Firebeard has sent us here on urgent business. While I am terribly sorry for your loss, we must act quickly to form a gryphon wing. Keegan believes it is the only way your people can survive whatever may come next."

Iain, though he looked forlorn, nodded as he stroked his beard. "If we're going to pull a full gryphon wing back together, we're going to need to move fast to gather the survivors before they leave or get picked off. I've got a bead on a few groups of riders that stuck together. I'm leavin' to find the Thundermar and Moore riders shortly. The Mullans were heading west to the Crucible of Carnage last I saw. Go see if you can convince Duglas Mullan to join up with Keegan—he should owe him a favor or three."

"We're on it!"

As Twibs turned her back to him, he grabbed her arm and said, "Wait." She looked back at him while he looked over Djinjer and Maury. "If urgency is of the utmost importance, the three of you should split up. One of you can handle Clan Mullan. The other two," he waved them over, "can also help." Djinjer and Maury approached the two and immediately he told Twibs, "You should tend to Clan Mullan and their issues. They'll trust you quicker than they'll trust them. No offense," he looked them over again, "girls?"

"Girls!" Maury happily confirmed.

Twibs looked back at them and gave a shrug. "See you guys later then."

"Be careful," Maury said softly. Twibs gave her a nod before mounting up and speeding off into the distance.

"As for you," he said to Maury, "I need ya to seek out Mackay and his men on the other side of the Devouring Breach, at the Gorshak War Camp." He pulled out a map and pointed it out to her, "The Dragonmaw didn't survive the initial onslaught, and Mackay's lookin' to ransack what he can of their camp to supply our fight. There shouldn't be much convincin' necessary, but they'll likely want a hand wrappin' things up there before they make their way back to Keegan. Give'm a boot in the arse from ol' Iain if you have to!"

"Right!" she gave him a salute and sped off.

"That leaves you," Iain said to her. "The Doyle riders were last spotted convergin' in the trees to the south, on the border of the Obsidian Forest." Again, he pointed out the location on the map. "They're a stubborn bunch and are likely to take some convincin' if they're going to join up with us. Your best bet with Keeland Doyle is to tell'm Cailin Longfellow's taken up shelter with us back at the town. Keeland's got a good soft spot for her and she just might be enough to convince him to drag all his boys along."

Djinjer almost smiled. "I'm on it," she said and also sped off in the direction he pointed out. It almost felt strange being on her own again and for a split second, she worried about Twibs and Maury. It was only a split second because she remembered that the two had been on their own this entire time before meeting her and they most likely were better equipped to be here than she was. "Still," she said to herself, she hoped they were safe.

As Djinjer ran through the hills of the Twilight Highlands, she wondered what this place looked like before the attacks. Even with glances here and there, Djinjer knew it had to have been beautiful. She dodged wolves here and there and eventually came upon what she knew was the Obsidian Forest. The forest had somehow been petrified; the trees had turned into ominous spires of obsidian. The ground had been blackened and the plant life tainted with the same dark magic as the ground just outside of Firebeard's Patrol. Djinjer carefully approached the forest, but was met with an enemy she had yet to face: dragons.

Though there was a tightening in her stomach and fear rooted itself in the depths of her mind, Djinjer knew she had to push forward and do her best to _not_ engage in battle with these fierce creatures. There were many of them and their bipedal kin, which Djinjer knew would spot her easily if she weren't careful. She wondered, if she pretended to be an overly large wolf, would they think she was just that and nothing more or would they see a meal in her? She didn't have time to think it through and she couldn't take the risk, so she quietly dashed from tree to tree until she found what she was looking for. She should have guessed their outcome. The sickening smell of death had permeated through this forest, but she didn't think it was from the party she was looking for. Djinjer carefully approached the fallen soldiers. Their bodies and the bodies of their faithful gryphons were mangled and left out for scavengers to pick at. She said a quick prayer over their bodies and before she could be noticed by dragonkin, she dashed back through the forest.

She was breathless by the time she reached the cemetery and from the look Iain gave her, he knew why she had returned so quickly. As she rose up on her hind legs, Djinjer told him what she found. He lowered his head and sighed heavily. "That's a right shame. Stubborn as they were to speak to, they were just as stubborn in fight. Would have been good to have 'em. Once this is done, we'll have to send some boys out to bring them back for a proper send off."

"I'm truly sorry," Djinjer murmured. "Is there anything else I can do?"

Iain took a deep breath and stroked his beard, but after a moment, he shook his head. "There's nothing we can do until we hear from the others. I suppose if you want, you can join them, but by the time you get there they may already be on their way back." He shrugged. "Rest while you can. You never know when you'll get another chance to do so."

Djinjer sighed heavily and looked out into the distance. She hoped everyone was okay. More so, she hoped Zathaniel would be joining her soon. Would he join them, she wondered or would he have new tasks that only he and she would tend to? Djinjer didn't know. She found a corner of the cemetery that wasn't occupied by a grave and sat down with her back pressed against the stone wall. For now, all she could do was sit and wait for her companions to return.


End file.
